This Season, Pelican Bay's Beach Restaurants Get a Brunch, a New Team and a Storm Study

At 9 a.m. on Sunday, November 15, Marker 36 will serve something it has never served before. The November Pelican Bay Post lists the restaurant's first Welcome Sunday Brunch from 9 a.m., with last seating at noon. Brunch ends at 1 p.m., when regular lunch begins. Foundation leadership and management will join the Marker 36 team that morning to welcome members, and the opening service is a special buffet.

Nearly every new thing on Pelican Bay's calendar this fall takes place at, or is run out of, its two beach restaurants. These are also the two buildings an engineering firm is now studying to decide how they should be hardened against the next storm. This season's social life is being built at Marker 36 and Sandbar while their future shape is still being worked out.

A week earlier, the season starts on the Boulevard

The first free event of the season is on the east side of the community. Artis—Naples holds its Fall Community Day on Sunday, November 8, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and it covers events in Hayes Hall and The Baker Museum. The program includes a Baker Museum scavenger hunt, an instrument petting zoo, bilingual storytelling, an author appearance and food trucks. Performances run from 1 p.m. until a Youth Chorus concert at 5 p.m.

Free admission is also an easy way to see the museum's two new fall exhibitions:

• The Surrealist International: Fifty Years of Dreams includes works from Tate and runs on the third floor through February 14, 2027.
• Florida Contemporary 2026–27 shows Dustin Harewood, Nicario Jiménez-Quispe, Savannah Magnolia and Anastasia Samoylova in the Hayes Hall galleries and The Blair Foundation Gallery through June 27, 2027.

Artis lists event parking on its campus at 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, in partner lots across Ridgewood Drive, and on levels 3 through 5 of the Waterside Shops garage. A free cart shuttle runs from the garage to the east entrance of Hayes Hall.

The Baker Museum Store also sells a book with a local connection. "Pelican Bay: A History of Our Home in Paradise" won a 2026 Silver Medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association in the Best Regional eBook, Nonfiction category. The Foundation commissioned the book, and it covers early episodes such as the community being refused water connections by both the city and the county. Copies are also sold at The Commons, the Community Center and the North and South Racquets Centers.

Welcome Back Weekend puts everything on the sand

Five days later, the season moves to the beach. In the October Post, Lifestyle Manager Arlene Harper introduced the Foundation's three-day opener with a simple line: "A new season deserves a great celebration." Every event but the racquets kickoff takes place at the beach restaurants or on the sand beside them.

1. Friday, November 13, 5 to 9 p.m., South Beach. The Welcome Back Beach Bash has a complimentary welcome drink, chef-attended food stations, a cash bar, DJ Bam and Never Stop Believin', a tribute to Journey, on a stage set right on the beach. Registration is required.
2. Saturday, November 14, 9:30 a.m. to noon. The Tennis and Pickleball Kickoff, with round robins and doubles play alongside Pelican Bay's pros, is sold out.
3. Saturday, November 14, 3:30 p.m., Sandbar at South Beach. Tuika's Polynesian Island Magic performs music, drumming and dances from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand, and the show ends with a Samoan Fire Knife Dance. Reservations have closed, but the Foundation invites members to come watch.
4. Sunday, November 15, from 9 a.m., Marker 36. Sunday Brunch makes its debut.
5. Sunday, November 15, 1 to 3 p.m., North Beach. Beach Bocce is open to members and guests with no registration, and other games are also on offer. The October issue describes it as open to all ages, run by the Sports Center team, with no experience needed.

Getting there works the usual way. The Foundation's beaches page describes nearly three miles of private beach, reached by tram or by a walk through the mangroves. The November Post lists beach hours from 9 a.m. to sunset. The tram runs from 7 a.m. until the restaurants close.

The Post has not said whether brunch continues on later Sundays or how to reserve it. The November 15 service is the only date it has announced.

A new kitchen team, split north and south

The brunch is the most visible part of a staffing change. In the October Post, the Foundation introduced a new five-person Food and Beverage leadership team, organized by beach:

The Post describes the team's focus as consistently good food, attentive service, and dining that feels welcoming and personal. It also says each restaurant will keep its own personality. The November issue calls this a new chapter for the department, with "fresh culinary ideas" and renewed attention to quality and consistency. It does not yet name any menu changes.

The regular schedule is the same at both restaurants. Marker 36 and Sandbar are open seven days a week, with lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dinner from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., and bar service from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Nest is open daily from 10:30 a.m. until sunset, weather permitting. The Foundation's web pages list seasonal live music at Marker 36 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at Sandbar on Mondays and Wednesdays, both from 5 to 8 p.m. Marker 36 describes its menu as island- and Caribbean-inspired. Both restaurants will serve a Thanksgiving buffet on Thursday, November 26, with seatings from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The same buildings are under engineering review

While the new team settles in, the buildings themselves are being studied. The Foundation's Resiliency and Natural Resources Committee sent a request for proposals to four firms. It chose Stantec Consulting Services to evaluate options for the beach restaurants, with three goals: lower costs, less storm damage and shorter recovery times. The committee explained the study in the October Post.

Stantec's scope of work, dated June 29, 2026, has three parts:

• Site data. Wind speed, storm surge and debris impact at the existing restaurants, plus a topographical survey of elevations, flood zone designations, mean high water lines and sand berms.
• Permitting review. Both restaurants sit inside Florida's Coastal Construction Control Line, so the review covers FEMA, FDEP, USACE, SFWMD and Collier County requirements for repairing, upgrading or replacing them.
• Options. Ways to harden each building, with conceptual drawings, site plans and a preliminary cost estimate. Stantec will present two "best" options, one for each restaurant.

The study began August 6 and is expected to take about four months. That puts Stantec's presentation at the Foundation Board's December or January meeting, which is open to all members. The committee wrote that a longer presentation could get its own session for the Board and members. No option has been chosen and no construction has been scheduled.

The study also comes after an expensive repair. The same October issue reports that the Pelican Bay Services Division's Fiscal Year 2027 assessment is $1,250 per Equivalent Residential Unit. That is $300, or 20 percent, less than the year before, because the dune and beach restoration that followed the 2024 hurricanes is finished. The ad valorem rate stays at 0.0857. Assessment figures are general information drawn from the Post, not tax or financial advice. Owners should confirm their own bill with the Pelican Bay Services Division or their advisor.

Dates to keep through the winter

The beach events and the board meeting fall in the same few months, alongside a fuller Artis calendar:

• November 8: Artis—Naples Fall Community Day, 1 to 5 p.m., free.
• November 13 to 15: Welcome Back Weekend at South Beach, Sandbar, Marker 36 and North Beach.
• November 26: Thanksgiving buffet at Sandbar and Marker 36.
• December 5: Baron Wolman: Capturing the Sound of an Era opens at The Baker Museum and runs through June 13, 2027, with photographs and objects from late-1960s music and Woodstock.
• December 10 and 11: the Naples Philharmonic's Firebird program in its Masterworks series.
• December or January: Stantec presents its beach restaurant findings to the Pelican Bay Foundation Board.

When you are at Marker 36 or Sandbar this season, watch for the Board agenda that schedules Stantec's presentation.

We follow the Pelican Bay Foundation's plans for its beach restaurants closely, because they shape life along the Gulf for owners in every enclave. If you would like a private conversation about what the coming decisions may mean for your residence, The Silvers Group welcomes you to schedule a consultation or join our private listings list.