People on the Paradise Coast love them some Jimmy P’s. And you can’t blame anyone for that. What started as a specialty butcher shop in Naples decades ago (one of the only places to buy wagyu beef, Berkshire pork and a slice of the exotic, like kangaroo and ostrich) has grown to include two upscale yet approachable steakhouses, a burger joint and a second market and cafe.
But—wait a sec—make that just a second market.
In a move that surprised many Bonitans (or should we call them “Springers,” or is it “Bonita Springers”?), once the second Jimmy P’s Charred opened in February at the Prado, Jimmy P’s Butcher Shop & Café on Bernwood Drive (less than a mile from the new steakhouse) morphed into just Jimmy P’s Butcher Shop & Deli. The move erased the section of the space for sit-down service and replaced it with more shelves for retail.
Anyone who wants, say, one of their juicy patties for lunch now needs to go around the corner to Charred North, which is a carbon copy of the Naples original—the menus are identical and so are other details, down to the butter that’s creamed with bing cherries, the wall-unit fireplace and the pendant lights dangling over the bar. There are enough seats inside (it’s similar in size but noticeably more spacious than the Naples location), but that’s not to say there haven’t been gasps from regulars who had come to rely on the café for an ultra-casual yet high-quality dining experience. But it’s hard to feel too bad when the consolation prize is a branch of one of the Gulfshore’s best steakhouses.
