"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 that their South A1A restaurant would close in October for a year of renovations after 15 years in the building. Johnny D's own website now says it has served its final guests at this location and expects to stay closed through October 2027.
Vero News called the wider October reshuffle "a dizzying game of musical chairs with island eateries." The comparison fits, with one difference. In musical chairs, nobody controls the chairs. Here, one person owns all three buildings. Anthony DeChellis owns the Johnny D's building, the new dining complex going up across the road and the Cardinal Drive building where The Tides has served dinner since 2000. Seen that way, the October changes are one plan, and they change how and when people eat out on the barrier island.
Where things stand in the first week of October
| Venue | Location | Status as of Oct. 4, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny D's Market & Bistro | South A1A | Closed for renovations, reopening planned for October 2027 |
| Blu Fin | 1410 South A1A | Soft opening was slated for Oct. 6, formal opening the second week of October, pending an equipment delivery |
| Turtle Cove Gourmet Market | 1410 South A1A | Opening this month, either alongside Blu Fin or after it |
| Motley Cow | 1410 South A1A | Part of the same staged October rollout |
| The Tides | Cardinal Drive | Reopened after a summer refresh; Sunday brunch and weekday takeout lunches approved |
Those Blu Fin dates were still plans when Vero News reported them on Sept. 20. DeChellis said the team was "waiting for some important equipment delivery next week" before setting a definitive date. Windward Restaurant Concepts' website still shows a "coming soon" page with no hours or menus. TCPalm reported that The Tides would reopen Oct. 1, and the restaurant's homepage now reads "We're open!"
The building that was meant for The Tides
The plan started with The Tides. DeChellis built the new restaurant space at 1410 South A1A for Tides owner and chef Leanne Kelleher, with her input. The Tides was supposed to operate there for a couple of years while its Cardinal Drive building was torn down and rebuilt. He also had plans drawn up for a new Cardinal building designed to her specifications.
Late in the process, Kelleher decided to stay where she was. She closed for only a couple of months this summer for modest upgrades. Both she and DeChellis told Vero News the change was amicable. They said there was too much emotion tied to the quaint old Cardinal location among the owners, staff, patrons and neighbors.
That left DeChellis with a custom-built fine-dining room and no tenant. He hired his own culinary director, and Johnny D's is now being folded into the new venture. DeChellis grew up in Vero Beach and spent his finance career in New York, most recently as president of Credit Suisse Private Banking. His hospitality company is named for Windward Way in The Moorings, the street where he grew up and still lives.
What 27,000 square feet across from Johnny D's actually holds
The complex sits next to the South A1A 7-Eleven, directly across from the Johnny D's building. The three venues are laid out front to back.
- Turtle Cove Gourmet Market takes the western end, closest to A1A. It will carry house-made fresh pastas, seafood, pastries, coffee and other specialty products.
- The Motley Cow sits in the middle under a large palapa roof of palm fronds. It is planned as an open-air tiki bar with creative cocktails and music.
- Blu Fin is at the back, with ample parking behind it. It is the fine-dining restaurant, which culinary director Sebastian La Rocca describes as "rooted in Mediterranean cuisine with Latin inspiration" and "sophisticated without being pretentious."
La Rocca is 48 and was born in Argentina. He has worked at several Michelin-rated restaurants around the world, and he moved to Vero Beach from the Midwest because he wanted to be near the ocean. Blu Fin's full menu was still in development when Vero News interviewed him. One likely item is his signature roasted tomatoes, crisp outside and soft inside, served over onions and sugarcane honey. He has said he plans to buy from local suppliers, fishermen and farmers alike, whenever possible.
The job postings give a better sense of scope than any menu so far. Windward set out to hire about 80 people. The openings included a sushi chef, a butcher and a pastry supervisor for the restaurant, plus a barista and cashier for the market. By Sept. 20, La Rocca said roughly 70 percent of the positions were filled after two job fairs.
Johnny D's isn't disappearing, it's moving across the road
The new market across the road is where Johnny D's carries on. The Amelios are DeChellis's cousins, and both will join the management team for the new venues. All current Johnny D's employees were invited to apply across the road, and DeChellis said "about 10 or 12" had already been hired. The farewell note promised that Turtle Cove Market would carry many of the foods, specialty items and wines Johnny D's customers already know.
The change in price point is real. Vero News described Johnny D's as a family-style casual eatery with $22 summer specials and $6 glasses of wine. Its own managers once said The Tides, with its pricier entrées, appealed to a different crowd. For the next year, South Beach's casual Johnny D's standby moves into a market at the front of a complex whose anchor is a fine-dining room.
When the Johnny D's building reopens around October 2027, it may not be a restaurant. DeChellis said his family once ran a liquor store on the premises called South Beach Liquors. He still holds a liquor license, so the building's next use could be a high-end wine and liquor shop. "In a way, it may be back to the future for the liquor store," he said. Because that decision isn't final, there is no renovation cost yet. He also owns the commercial building just south of Johnny D's on A1A. He says the series of moves is meant to give South Beach establishments the community can be proud of.
The Tides stayed put and added daytime hours
Staying on Cardinal Drive did not mean nothing changed at The Tides. Kelleher has run the restaurant for 26 years, and until now it has served dinner only. On Aug. 20, the City of Vero Beach Planning and Zoning Board voted 5-0 to let her add Sunday brunch and weekday takeout lunches under the restaurant's existing permits. 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 plans a free membership for about 100 of her best customers. Members will be able to buy pre-packaged gourmet items to take home, such as crab cakes. "It's just a neighborhood-type service I'd like to offer," she told the board. The takeout idea started during the pandemic. Kelleher said it was popular even though it wasn't a commercial success, and many of those customers walked over from nearby homes.
The approval also brought up Central Beach's long-running parking problem. Neighboring business owner Nancy Cook said she supports the brunch, but she urged the city to find a comprehensive fix. "Every space is really valuable," she said. Planning and Development Director Jason Jeffries said he did not expect the takeout lunches to add congestion on Cardinal Drive.
As of this week, The Tides' website has not posted brunch or lunch hours, and its menu page lists only dinner, wine, beer and drinks. The site also says the online reservation system is having technical problems, so calling is the most reliable way to book for now. The restaurant has served Kelleher's Floridian and New American menu since March 2000. Its wine list has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for 26 consecutive years.
Booking Blu Fin before the system is live
At Blu Fin, demand has arrived ahead of the infrastructure. "People are calling me on my personal phone asking for dining reservations – we've got to do something about that," DeChellis told Vero News. He said a computerized reservation system would open "in a couple of weeks." Until Windward's website replaces its placeholder page, the opening dates in the table above remain the best guide. Expect the three venues to open one after another over October.
The net result is easy to count. Before this fall, the South A1A block had one casual family restaurant and market, and Central Beach's best-known fine-dining room served dinner only. By the end of October, South Beach should have a gourmet market, a tiki bar and a Mediterranean dining room on the same lot. The Tides will also be serving Sunday brunch and weekday lunches on Cardinal Drive.
Openings like these change what daily life looks like on the island, and buyers notice that too. If you own a home near South A1A or Central Beach and want to know what it could be worth this season, Gibbs Baum can walk you through a current valuation built on local knowledge. Request a Home Valuation, and we'll put it in the context of what's actually happening on your street.
