The Port District has a complete riverfront for the first time this fall, and it still has no restaurant. The last 704-foot piece of boardwalk, under the Port St. Lucie Boulevard bridge, opened Aug. 8, 2025. It closed the gap in a walk of more than three-quarters of a mile along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River. The Preserve opened at the south end on March 4, 2026. River Nights came back this month, though rain canceled its Oct. 8 opener.
The five venues meant to make this a dining spot are still under construction at 2454 SE Westmoreland Blvd. Developers' most recent public timeline puts their opening about a year away. Until then, The Port District is a riverfront park with a museum, a garden and a monthly food-truck concert. You'll get more out of it if you treat it that way.
Two schedules for the same five restaurants
The Grove is a riverfront project from developer SūDā, with operational support from Atlas Restaurant Group. City Council approved its long-term lease in January 2023. SūDā Investments and Atlas Restaurant Group broke ground on Oct. 23, 2025. Phase 1 includes five venues:
- Salt River, coastal dining with a rooftop over the river
- Italian Disco, a pizzeria, bar and restaurant
- Kannon, with sushi, bento boxes and Japanese cuisine
- The Grove Bar, for local craft beer and cocktails
- Tequi Bar, a tiki bar built around tequila
Depending on where you look, you'll find two different opening dates.
| Source | What it says | When it was stated |
|---|---|---|
| City project page for The Grove | Phase 1 schedule runs September 2025 to February 2027, with opening expected in early 2027 | Page shows no date |
| Developers' update to City Council, reported by TCPalm | Building work set to wrap by May 2027, then three to four months of preparation, with an opening possibly by fall 2027 | April 13, 2026 meeting |
TCPalm's April report is the newer of the two, and it moves the target back by most of a year. The City page also says a second phase with two more casual restaurants would start construction only once Phase 1 is running. If the fall 2027 forecast holds, a full set of riverfront restaurants is still more than a year off.
What got finished while the restaurants waited
The district's public spaces were finished first, so the riverfront makes a complete walk today. The City's River Nights page sends people to park free at nearby lots and walk the boardwalk to The Event Lawn. The same route works on any other day too:
- Start at Veterans Park at Rivergate, 2100 SE Veterans Memorial Parkway, or at Tom Hooper Park, 2300 SE Rivergate Parkway. The boardwalk runs between the two, linking Tom Hooper Park to the boat ramps and pavilion at Veterans Park.
- Take the boardwalk under the Port St. Lucie Boulevard bridge. That 704-foot segment was the last one installed. Crews set it in place on June 25, 2025, and it opened Aug. 8. The full boardwalk measures 4,300 feet. It's open 24 hours a day, and the City calls it a popular fishing spot.
- Walk on to The Event Lawn and Pioneer Park at 2454 SE Westmoreland Blvd. Pioneer Park has an interactive playground, water play, a riverfront stage and restrooms. The playground is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the splash pad runs 9 a.m. to dusk.
- Finish at The Preserve, the southernmost point of the district. It covers 13 acres with walking trails and overlooks along a wetland, and it connects to the North Fork boardwalk. WPTV's coverage of the opening described about half a mile of trails and elevated walkways.
The Preserve is the newest piece, and its hours differ from the boardwalk's. It's open dawn to dusk, with parking and ADA restrooms. Fishing is allowed. Construction started in August 2025, paid for by the City's Parks Impact Fee capital program and a grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District.
Three ways onto the water within one walk
The district's launch points are spread along the route above. Veterans Park at Rivergate has the boat ramps. Pioneer Park has a kayak and canoe launch. The Preserve has a boat and canoe launch of its own.
The City's pages for these parks don't list kayak or paddleboard rentals, so plan to bring your own boat. Anglers have the boardwalk around the clock and The Preserve from dawn to dusk.
The indoor stops keep short hours
Two buildings on Westmoreland Boulevard fill in the rest of a Port District outing. Their schedules are tighter than the boardwalk's, so check them first.
Port St. Lucie History Museum and Education Center, 2456 SE Westmoreland Blvd.
- Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Closed Sunday through Tuesday
The museum is in the 1952 Peacock Lodge, which the City finished refurbishing in 2022. Restoring the 1917 Peacock House next door is listed as future work.
Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, 2410 SE Westmoreland Blvd.
- Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
- Closed Mondays
The gardens' fall calendar includes Tai Chi, yoga and jazz-jam sessions. The City lists a gift shop there. No café or other food venue in the district shows up on the City's facility pages. On a Sunday, the gardens are the only one of these two buildings that's open.
River Nights is a food-truck season from start to finish
The missing restaurants matter most here. River Nights is free and runs on the second Thursday of each month from October through April at The Event Lawn, with live music and food trucks. The vendors booked for the canceled Oct. 8 show give a sense of the usual lineup: Bision Eatery for burgers, Churros and Cream for dessert, Uptown Deli and Bonner Mobile Bar.
| Date | Band | Genre |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 12, 2026 | Shaw Davis & The Black Ties | Rock |
| Dec. 10, 2026 | Tom Jackson | Country |
| Jan. 14, 2027 | Shaelyn Band | Rock/Blues |
| Feb. 11, 2027 | Vam Band | Party |
| March 11, 2027 | Paul Anthony and Reggae Souljahs | Reggae |
| April 8, 2027 | Subliminal Doubt | No Doubt tribute |
Under the developers' April forecast, every date in that table falls before The Grove opens. The season ends April 8, 2027, and the building work alone is expected to run into May. That makes the parking rules more important, because nobody will be stopping in at a riverfront restaurant before or after the show. The City lists free parking at Veterans Park at Rivergate, Tom Hooper Park and the USPS office at 2255 SE Veterans Memorial Parkway. It says there's no event parking at any of the surrounding business plazas.
The rest of the fall calendar
Several other dates fill in the weeks between River Nights.
- Ghost tour, Oct. 14 or 15. Two calendars disagree. The Port St. Lucie Historical Society lists a Port St. Lucie Ghost Tour at the History Museum on Oct. 14, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Visit St. Lucie lists a Walking Ghost Tour at the Port on Oct. 15, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., at The Event Lawn. Confirm with the organizer before you go.
- Oct. 26, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The History Museum hosts the Stitch-in-time Quilters Celebrating America's 250th Reception.
- Nov. 14. November Story Time at the Botanical Gardens.
- Nov. 27 to 30. PSL IN LIGHTS dates on the Botanical Gardens calendar.
- Dec. 18, 5 to 9 p.m. Noche Buena at The Port District is free, with Jamboree Latin Band, Latin food trucks and PSLinLights. Parking is at the same three free lots as River Nights.
The City has scheduled Port St. Lucie International Fest for Nov. 21 but still lists its location as "To be determined," so don't count it as a Port District event yet.
At Renny Realty, we follow projects like The Grove from the lease vote through the ribbon cutting, because we've seen how much a finished riverfront can change the blocks around it. If you're wondering how The Port District's next phase could affect a home on the east side of the river, Schedule a Consultation and we'll go through the timeline with you.
