"They don't have the right in their lease to change the color," Bayfront founder Kevin Stoneburner told Naples Press this summer. He was talking about the rendering that ran with the first national coverage of the Barneys New York relaunch. It showed part of Bayfront repainted white or cream, with matching dome awnings carrying the Barneys name in black.
That one line sums up how the Barneys story will play out at Bayfront. The lease is signed, and the changes start inside the building and move outward slowly. For anyone in Royal Harbor who reaches Bayfront by boat across Naples Bay, the waterfront at the mouth of the Gordon River is the part of the plan scheduled to change last.
The Lease Covers the Inside of the Building
Stoneburner confirmed to Naples Press that he signed a lease with the Barneys group for a little more than 10,000 square feet in a four-unit space at Bayfront. His company, Stoneburner Companies, owns and manages the center. The operators are Richard Cohen and Eric Appelblom. They bought exclusive rights to use the Barneys name in Florida from Authentic Brands Group, which acquired the brand after the New York retailer was liquidated in 2019. The last Barneys store closed in 2020.
Appelblom gave the location in Tim Aten's Gulfshore Business column. The store takes the two 5,000-square-foot units currently used by B&B Italia and an office tenant, right next to Ce Soir. B&B Italia is moving to the other side of Barneys, where it will partner on a Barneys Home store of about 2,500 square feet.
The work itself is planned in a specific order. The Barneys team hired Naples-based MHK Architecture. Mark McLean of MHK told Naples Press that the first phase is interior demolition and renovation only, and that exterior changes would come in a second phase after the store opens. "What we're doing doesn't require DRB approval," he said. Any change to the façade would need approval from the Naples Design Review Board, according to city planners quoted in the same report.
So the building you see from the water keeps its alternating beige, brick, gold, orange and salmon sections while the work goes on inside.
The Opening Date Has Moved Into Next Year
In early summer, the goal was to open before the end of 2026. Cohen put it plainly in the Gulfshore Business column: "We're crossing our fingers; we're looking up at the stars. We'd like to open by the end of the year."
Gulfshore Life's 2026–27 season preview, published November 2, says Barneys returns to Naples "next year." It lists a ready-to-wear launch first, then the Chelsea's Passage home boutique and the restaurant Freds, and it mentions plans for a members-only wellness concept. Appelblom had already set a longer timeline for the rest of the plan. He said in the summer that most of the new stores and restaurants were targeted to open in about 18 months.
| Concept | Where at Bayfront | Status as last reported |
|---|---|---|
| Barneys New York | About 10,000 sq ft, next to Ce Soir | Lease signed; opening slated for next year |
| Barneys Home / Chelsea's Passage | About 2,500 sq ft beside the store | To follow the main store |
| Freds | Next to or across from the store | To follow the main store |
| Members-only wellness concept | No location given | Planned |
| Swims, Piloti, Hunter Boots | No unit given | Brands Cohen hopes to bring |
| Sports Illustrated sports bar | No unit given | Described by Cohen as planned |
| Nautica marina | The dock | Described by Cohen as planned |
Freds has a history. Named for Fred Pressman, the son of Barneys founder Barney Pressman, it served lunch, dinner and cocktails daily in New York. It was known for chopped chicken salad, turkey clubs, lobster bisque and pasta.
The Water Side Waits Longest
For a boater, the dock is the part of the plan that matters, and it has the most uncertain timing.
"On the dock, we're going to create a Nautica marina, which I think the brand Nautica will upgrade the level of the marina," Cohen said in the Gulfshore Business column. The same column noted that plans to expand the Cabana Bar at the waterfront have been delayed for years.
The city's Design Review Board had already approved that expansion, which would take up four boat slips along the Gordon River. But that approval only lasts a year. "It was reapproved, but the DRB approval is only good for one year, so we're resubmitting that for approval in August," Stoneburner said, adding that the new design would be "enhanced, more luxury." The DRB's August 26, September 23 and October 28 agendas each listed projects at other addresses. The board's next meeting is set for November 20.
Bayfront's own website lists "Shane's NEW Cabana Bar Restaurant," described as "a tropical waterfront experience at Bayfront Marina," under "Coming Soon." So the store gets built first. The bigger Cabana Bar depends on a fresh design approval, and the façade comes in a phase that starts only after Barneys opens.
Coming In by Boat This Season
Meanwhile, the Bayfront you reach by water this winter is the one that's already there. Bayfront Marina sits where the Gordon River meets Naples Bay. It has 41 slips, rented by the day, week or month for boats of various lengths. From the Royal Harbor side of the bay, a day slip turns dinner downtown into a trip with no parking to find.
What's at the dock and a short walk from it:
- The Cabana Bayfront. The open-air bar sits right on the marina. Its posted hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with drink specials every day.
- Ce Soir. The Toronto-based restaurant, at 492 Bayfront Place, was one of the first upscale tenants Stoneburner brought in before Barneys. It serves modern French and Mediterranean food, finishing some meats and seafood over a Josper charcoal grill. Happy hour runs daily from 3:00 to 6:00. The Riviera Sunset menu is three courses for $60 per person, served daily from 3:00 to 5:30.
- The rest of the center. Bayfront lists daily shopping and dining hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- The walk under US-41. A protected walkway runs along the Gordon River and under the US-41 bridge, connecting the marina to Tin City and downtown.
- The Naples Bay Water Shuttle. Bayfront Marina calls Bayfront a preferred stop on the shuttle, which links several waterfront shopping, hotel and dining spots around the bay.
The Ce Soir menu fits the bay's schedule. On a winter evening, a 3:00 seating for the sunset menu gets you to the table and back to the boat before dark.
The Other End of the Bay Changed Hands Too
Bayfront isn't the only marina on Naples Bay with new people behind it. In July, Naples Daily News reported that Naples Bay Resort & Marina, with its 97-slip marina and the 450-member Naples Bay Club, sold for $41.25 million. The buyer is a joint venture of Pyramid Global Hospitality, a Boston-based hotel management company, and Western & Southern Financial Group of Cincinnati.
Stoneburner placed Bayfront within that larger wave. He pointed to major projects nearing completion nearby at Naples Square and Gulfshore Playhouse, and to growth along Fifth Avenue South, Davis Boulevard and the East Trail. "The city has concentrated on Fifth Avenue more than elsewhere; now it's our turn," he said in the Gulfshore Business column. "We have development all around us and we're kind of in the middle of it now."
For a Royal Harbor boater, that leaves Bayfront in a clear position this season. The new names arrive in a set order. The Cabana Bar on the dock stays as it is until the city's Design Review Board approves its expansion, and the sunset table at Ce Soir is there now.
If you are weighing how Bayfront's changes and the new ownership around Naples Bay could shape life on the water near Royal Harbor, Peter Rose and the team can talk through what we're watching along the bay. Contact Us whenever it suits you.