Tonight, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Evening on Fifth fills Fifth Avenue South with sidewalk music, dining and shopping. It's the first of the season's evening events, and there's a second one on Dec. 10. At 700 Fifth Ave. S., the music won't stop when the event does. Medi, the restaurant that replaced Vergina, keeps its bar open until 2 a.m. every night.
That late closing time fits a pattern on the Avenue this fall. Restaurants that have been here for decades are adding hours, meals and holidays to their calendars. Vergina spent 26 years at the same address before becoming Medi. Pazzo! Cucina Italiana just turned 31 and is starting lunch for the first time. Le Colonial is open on Thanksgiving for the first time. Put together, the Avenue's dining day now runs longer at both ends and fills in a holiday or two.
Medi Keeps Vergina's Team and Runs From Lunch to Last Call
Medi opened under its new name on Oct. 26 at 700 Fifth Ave. S. It has a St. Tropez-inspired look, a new menu from Executive Chef Víctor Villanueva, and live music every day starting in the late afternoon. According to Markets of Tomorrow, the management and staff who ran Vergina are staying on under the new name.
Managing partner Eric Tancredi told the same outlet, "For 26 years, Vergina has been a place where our guests feel like family, and that same spirit will continue at Medi."
The building can now seat about 300 guests across several spaces. The main dining room seats 110 and the indoor bar seats 52. The courtyard holds about 45 more, and the front patio looks out over Fifth Avenue South. The published schedule shows how much of the day Medi now covers:
| Service | Hours, daily |
|---|---|
| Lunch | 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Happy hour | 3 to 4:45 p.m. |
| Dinner | 4 to 11:30 p.m. |
| Bar service | Until 2 a.m. |
That's more than 14 hours of service at a single address. The music changes through the night too, starting as background for dinner and getting livelier once the evening turns into bar and nightlife. Gulfshore Life's 2026–27 season preview described the plan as channeling the Côte d'Azur with "refreshed design, a new menu and a deeper bench of live entertainment."
Pazzo! Turns 31 and Adds a Midday Shift
Down the Avenue at 853 Fifth Ave. S., Pazzo! Cucina Italiana reopened on Oct. 27 after a temporary closure for roof and kitchen work. It celebrated its 31st anniversary on Nov. 7.
The bigger change starts next month. As reported in a Naples Daily News dining roundup, Pazzo! plans to begin lunch service in December, the first time in its history. The restaurant hasn't announced a specific start date.
After three decades of dinner service, a lunch shift opens up a midday table on that block that wasn't available before.
The menu changed during the closure, but carefully. New dishes include:
- Bistecca Caprese
- Sea bass
- Flounder Milanese
Longtime regulars will still find the truffle bread, butternut squash ravioli and chicken parm.
Le Colonial Sets a Thanksgiving Table for the First Time
Le Colonial, the French-Vietnamese restaurant at 457 Fifth Ave. S., has taken the holiday route. This year it will be open on Thanksgiving for the first time, serving a three-course menu for $105 per person on Nov. 26 only. Here's how the meal is built:
- First course: a choice of beef sausage wrapped in betel leaf or duck dumpling soup
- Main: tea-cured Hanoi roasted duck, served with shared sides
- Dessert: spiced pumpkin crémeux
The OpenTable listing takes parties of one to eight, recommends reservations, and notes that a kids' menu is available.
Le Colonial is also building out the rest of the holiday season. The Naples Daily News roundup reported new private-dining and catering options, with private rooms and customizable three- and four-course menus for holiday parties and corporate gatherings. Between the Thanksgiving table and private rooms for December parties, Le Colonial now has a place on the Avenue's holiday calendar from late November on.
The Same Pattern a Few Blocks Away
The trend reaches past Fifth Avenue. The same Naples Daily News roundup reported that Sea Salt, at 1186 Third St. S., closed over the summer and has reopened with new furnishings and a new menu. Executive chef Josh Zeman has taken the menu beyond the restaurant's usual Italian and Mediterranean range, keeping seafood at the center while using more global ingredients and techniques. The new focal point of the dining room is "Magical Venice," a 36-foot canvas made for Sea Salt by artist Yankel Ginzburg.
One true newcomer is on the Fifth Avenue list this season, and it comes from a familiar downtown name. Gulfshore Life reports that Sava, a French farmhouse concept from the owners of Sails, is set to debut on Fifth Avenue South with a 1,000-label wine cellar. Its kitchen centers on seasonal organic produce and wild-caught seafood, cooked on a custom French cooking suite and rotisserie.
Where the Longer Hours Meet the Holiday Calendar
The expanded schedules matter most on the nights the Avenue gets busiest. Between now and mid-December, the downtown calendar looks like this:
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Evening on Fifth, with sidewalk music, dining and shopping along Fifth Avenue South.
- Friday, Nov. 13, 4:30 to 7 p.m.: The ticketed preview party for Gifted! Pop-Up Holiday Shopping for a Cause at the Naples Woman's Club, 570 Park St., just off Fifth Avenue. Tickets are $150 and include early shopping, chef-prepared food, drinks, music, an auction and a raffle. The event benefits student scholarships.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.: The free public day of Gifted!, at the same venue. Donations are appreciated.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Le Colonial's first Thanksgiving service.
- Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. through Dec. 5 at 10 p.m.: The annual Fifth Avenue South Christmas Walk, with the official tree lighting in Sugden Plaza, a living nativity, a skating rink, live music, Santa and dining along the Avenue.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 to 3 p.m.: The Naples Concert Band's holiday program at Cambier Park.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6:30 to 8 p.m.: The City of Naples Christmas Parade, running from Third Street South and Ninth Avenue South to Eighth Street South.
- Thursday, Dec. 10, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.: The second Evening on Fifth, with live music, dining and shopping.
The Fifth Avenue South event calendar lists the Avenue's dates as they're added. Pazzo!'s first lunch service will fall somewhere in December, the same month as the tree lighting and the parade, once the restaurant sets a date.
When the people heading downtown for these dates are also thinking about where they might live someday, we're glad to talk about which blocks fit the life they want, from late dinners on Fifth to a short walk to the Christmas Walk. Jodi Kaplan Group knows downtown Naples by the hour as well as by the address. Contact Us when you're ready to talk.
