Inn purchases 3rd Street from McLaughlins
The Gasparilla Inn has purchased the old 3rd Street Bistro. The sale, from owners Kevin and Barbara McLaughlin, was expected to close this week.
“What Barbara and Kevin did with that property opened our eyes to what it truly could be, and I don’t think we ever envisioned what they were able to put together there,” said Brent Cross, president and general manager of The Gasparilla Inn. “It was always something that was on our mind.”
There is no name yet, but the menu will have an Asian theme. It will be open year ‘round, initially with no reservations and no heavy courses, instead with meals coming out as they are prepared.
“It’s going to be a contemporary pan-Asian restaurant that will be very Japanese forward, so you’re going to have some classic dishes that you would see across Asia, but sashimi, sushi, handcrafted rolls, small plates and larger entrees of that nature,” Cross said. “We wanted something that was different than anything else that’s already here on the island. It was important to us.”
The McLaughlins have owned the building since 2021, but had eyed the property much earlier on one of their first trips to the island, when it was owned by the Spurgeons, who ran Loons on a Limb. The McLaughlins had known Sue Spurgeon’s brother.
“We were checking it out because of Sue’s brother, Ted was a friend of ours,” Barbara McLaughlin said.
After closing on the sale, they were ready to open and renovate.
“We were going to get ready to renovate it, but along came [Hurricane] Ian, and then that connected us with Bart,” Barbara said. “Then along came the twin disasters.”
When South Beach Bar & Grille burnt down in Hurricane Ian, co-owners Bart DeStefano and Marco Meola moved their operations over to 3rd Street, which became “Mimi’s 3rd Street Grille,” named after their chef.
Now, The Inn will be hiring for a fall opening, with about 25 team members needed for both the front of house and back of house. They will start advertising in the fall.
The building, at 310 East Railroad Ave., has a taxable value of $1,490,569. Cross did not release a sale price. It had been listed for lease on Loopnet, and was advertised as a 1,500-square-foot interior with patio seating. Its ownership is listed under 310 E. Railroad LLC, a corporation of Kevin and Barbara McLaughlin.
Kevin McLaughlin and brother Jay have a history in restaurants in addition to their retailing, and in 1986, opened Island on Madison on Madison Avenue in New York City with sister restaurants on Florida’s east coast. The build out and renovation was such that there will not need to be any substantial changes to open.
“Barbara and Kevin did such a great job at getting it branded and decorated, and we’ve got to put some finishing touches to the kitchen,” Cross said.
In August 2024, the project first went in front of the Boca Grande Historic Preservation board with drawings from Larson Architecture Works of New York. The exterior was slightly modified to include Chippendale railing. It also cleared off some later additions, and simplified the entrance. At that time, there was a hoped-for scenario with a possible other local tenant.
According to Lee County property records, the building first shows up as owned in 1979 by Gladys Black and Jefferson Gaines Jr., selling to Jean C. Heverly of Captiva. A June 1982 warranty deed then shows that Heverly granted the parcel to Jay and Susan Conklin Spurgeon. The Spurgeons, under Sperlonga Holdings LLC, sold to a general partnership with the McLaughlins.
As of press-time, the sale price had not been recorded in the electronic clerk records. The current assessed value for 2026 is $1,490,569.
“When Milton came, the idea faded of us running the restaurant,” Kevin said. “It was pretty obvious to Barbara and I when we were not going to do it, who should do it.”
