"So this isn't goodbye. It's simply 'we'll see you across the street.'" That was how Nina and Mario Amelio, the brother and sister behind Johnny D's Market & Bistro, announced in September that the South A1A bistro would close for renovations. Vero News reported it as the latest move in "a dizzying game of musical chairs with island eateries."
Most of those chairs belong to one owner. The building Johnny D's left and the new complex it points regulars toward share the same owner. The restaurant that nearly filled the new complex's fine-dining spot decided to stay home on Cardinal Drive instead. For South Beach, this year's change is less a loss than a routine moved about a hundred feet across the road, with a new price point on the far side.
One owner on both sides of South A1A
Anthony DeChellis, a Vero Beach native, owns Windward Restaurant Concepts, FSR magazine reported. He owns the Johnny D's building and the new Turtle Cove complex across the road, according to Vero News. The Amelios are his cousins, and both were set to join the management team at the new venues.
Johnny D's employees were invited to apply across the road too. By the time of that September story, DeChellis said "about 10 or 12" had already been hired at the new market, bar and restaurant. The complex was aiming for roughly 80 hires overall. Its culinary director, Sebastian La Rocca, said about 70 percent of those positions had been filled after two job fairs.
Johnny D's own website now confirms the first half of the plan. "After 15 wonderful years, Johnny D's has closed its doors for a little while," the family's note reads, adding that it will be "closed for renovations through October 2027." The same note sends customers across the street to Turtle Cove Market for "many of the foods, wines, and specialty items you already love," along with "some familiar Johnny D's faces."
The Johnny D's that comes back may not be the one that closed. DeChellis told Vero News his family once ran a liquor store on the property called South Beach Liquors. Since he still holds a liquor license, the next version could be a high-end wine and liquor shop. He called it "back to the future." The exact concept and the renovation budget had not been set.
What crossed the road, and what it costs now
The new development sits at 1410 South A1A and covers 27,000 square feet. Its three venues use the address 916 Turtle Cove Lane, according to FSR magazine's preview of the opening. Each one fills a different part of what a neighborhood bistro used to do.
- Turtle Cove Gourmet Market. A space of nearly 3,000 square feet planned around house-made fresh pastas, seafood, pastries, coffee and prepared meals to take home, with seating for 28 on its terrace. This is where the Johnny D's family says its regulars will find familiar items.
- The Motley Cow. A 1,100-square-foot tiki bar under a giant palm-frond palapa, described as elevated casual dining with a focus on seafood. A Mibrasa enclosed charcoal oven handles much of the cooking. It seats 54, including 18 at the bar, and the posted plan is service from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- The Blu Fin. The fine-dining room, with 78 seats indoors and out, including six at the bar and eight at bar tables.
The price gap is the change South Beach diners will feel most. Vero News described Johnny D's as a family-style casual eatery with $22 summer specials and $6 glasses of wine. The Blu Fin's OpenTable listing puts its price band at "$50 and over." For the next year, the everyday side of Johnny D's lives on through the market counter and the casual seafood at The Motley Cow. The sit-down dinner on that stretch of A1A is now a special-occasion meal.
The Blu Fin took the seat The Tides almost filled
The fine-dining spot in the new building was first meant for someone else. The Tides, chef Leanne Kelleher's restaurant on Cardinal Drive in Central Beach, had planned to move into the just-built South A1A space next to the 7-Eleven. Kelleher changed her mind, Vero News reported. She decided to stay put because the restaurant's vintage 1950s converted residence holds strong nostalgic meaning for many of her regular customers.
DeChellis then brought in La Rocca, an Argentine-born chef whose career includes Michelin-recognized kitchens in Europe and the Americas. The Blu Fin held its grand opening Oct. 10 and opened to the public Tuesday, Oct. 13, Hometown News reported.
The menu moves between the Mediterranean and Latin America, and seafood leads. Starters include cured red snapper with ajo blanco and an octopus tonnato with confit tuna sauce. Entrées include grouper roasted on a cedar plank and capellini with Santa Barbara sea urchin. La Rocca plans to work with local fishermen and farmers whenever possible and let the seasons guide the menu.
One dish speaks directly to longtime islanders. "Charley's Steak" is a Black Angus New York strip paired with a giant lump crab "fricassee," inspired by Charlie Brown's, the Vero Beach favorite of the 1970s. It arrives under a cloche, and guests pick their steak knife from a presentation box.
What to know before you book:
- Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m., per The Blu Fin's OpenTable page.
- Reservations are recommended. The phone number is 772-494-6440.
- The restaurant is already planning a New Year's Eve celebration and has said details will come this fall.
Cardinal Drive kept its 1950s house and added daytime hours
By staying, The Tides made its own change to the island map. Kelleher has run The Tides for 26 years. In August she asked the city to let the restaurant add Sunday brunch and weekday takeout lunches to its evening-only service. Vero Beach's Planning and Zoning Board approved the request 5-0 on Aug. 20, according to Vero News.
The approval came with one condition. It holds only while The Tides stays under its current management, so a new owner would have to apply again. Kelleher also described a no-cost "VIP" takeout club for about 100 of her best customers. She called it "a neighborhood-type service" and compared it to a market for "pay-as-you-go crab cakes or other items." She said many of her takeout customers during the pandemic walked over from nearby homes.
Parking came up at the hearing, as it usually does in Central Beach. Nearby business owners asked the city for a broader fix to the beachside parking shortage. Planning and Development Director Jason Jeffries said he saw no adverse effect from the new services and did not expect takeout lunch to add congestion on Cardinal Drive.
The Tides was scheduled to reopen Oct. 1 after a two-month renovation, TCPalm reported. Its website lists dinner nightly Tuesday through Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.
Taken together, the island has two fine-dining rooms a few miles apart, each in a different kind of building. The Tides kept the converted 1950s house its regulars are attached to and added brunch and takeout lunch to its approved services. The Blu Fin brought a new chef into a new building, with a menu nod to a 1970s steakhouse. Johnny D's, for now, lives inside its owner's market.
This weekend in Central Beach
Saturday, Nov. 7, is a good night to see how the island's food scene connects beyond dinner reservations. The Beachside Bonfire & Drone Shows runs from 5 to 9 p.m. at five Ocean Drive venues, with bonfires, music, and food and drink for sale. Passports are available for a suggested donation that benefits Next Generation Veterans of Indian River County, according to the verobeach.com event listing.
That morning, the Vero Beach Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at 3000 Ocean Drive, as it is every Saturday. Business Inspiring Kindness, Inc. hosts it. The next day, Sunday, Nov. 8, the Vero Beach Art Club holds Art in the Park at Humiston Park, also at 3000 Ocean Drive, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The club returns Nov. 22 and Dec. 6.
I've lived on this coast for more than 45 years, and I've watched plenty of island landmarks change hands, close for a season, or come back as something new. If you're tracking which South Beach and Central Beach spots will matter for your own routine over the next year, I'm always happy to talk it through. Laura Dowling Roy is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.
