~~ Angel Hill Corporation ~~

[AngelHillCorp]

IBCX ~ NEWS ......



Cozze international fare with Italian influences
By Chelsea J. Samuel
[e-mail]
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/ENT07/70112047

Originally posted on January 13, 2007

Director of Operations Juan Celestino and General Manager Shannon Caperton have been working on turning Cozze around since the former Sanibel Steakhouse reopened Labor Day weekend.

• What: Cozze International Cuisine and Steakhouse
• Where: 24041 U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs
• Hours: The dining room is open from 5-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and the lounge closes when the last customer leaves. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
• Menu: Appetizers range from bruschetta ($4.95) to fresh littleneck clams ($13). Entrees include beef tenderloin ($33), grilled chicken breast ($16), roasted sea bass ($26) and some steaks ($26-39).
• Details: Call 390-0400.

With a new name and a new menu, new managers are trying to polish Cozze’s tarnished reputation until it gleams like the silverware against crisp white linens in the restaurant’s dining room.



Director of operations Juan Celestino and general manager Shannon Caperton said inconsistent service had marked the restaurant since Brooklyn, N.Y.-based IBAC Corporation purchased The Sanibel Steakhouse and its Fort Myers counterpart in May.

Problems lingered through September, when the Bonita Springs location reopened Labor Day weekend as Cozze — the Italian word for mussels, pronounced “cozy.”
But along with years of restaurant experience, Celestino and Caperton, who have been on the job a few months, promise to bring the restaurant up to its former standard.



Cozze's new international menu reflects the dining room’s Mediterranean architecture.
“We have a lot of potential here,” Celestino said. “It is my utmost desire and interest to turn this operation around.”

The first thing to go was the menu. With locally owned Chops right up the road and
famed Ruth’s Chris Steak House at Estero’s Coconut Point, they knew this part of the county had enough places for good steak.

“We have a few big boys in the neighborhood,” Celestino said.

Instead, the new menu focuses on international cuisine with Italian influences, serving dishes like pesto-crusted salmon and rack of lamb served with risotto in addition to a few steaks.

“We want to give it our own personality,” Celestino said.

Cozze's new menu focuses on international cuisine, like littleneck clams in a garlicky tomato cioppino broth.
Caperton said the restaurant’s international theme reflects the dining room’s Mediterranean atmosphere, with its multi-colored brickwork and high arches.

“This building is fabulous,” she said, “The environment here is very cool.”

Caperton worked with Celestino at Cin Cin in Fort Myers, and it was his experience there that led to his IBAC Corporation hire. He serves as director of operations for both the Fort Myers location, which will remain a traditional steakhouse, and Cozze.

IBAC Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer Ed Hayter said the area’s growth attracted his company, which owns hotels and restaurants in Tennessee and Arkansas, to Southwest Florida.

The building that once housed Sanibel Steakhouse now is home to Cozze, which means "mussel" in Italian.
The restaurant’s new international theme will bring customers in since there aren’t any similar restaurants in the area.

“We feel that there’s nothing in the market like that right now,” he said.

Celestino said the restaurant’s inconsistencies kept once-regular guests from returning and from telling their friends to visit the restaurant.

He and Caperton hope to get people coming into the restaurant and then telling their friends to try it, too.

“I think the community saw there were changes happening and to them, it was obvious that the offerings were not as consistent as they would expect,” Celestino said.

Now that the menu is up to standard, they’re working on bringing the restaurant’s service and wine list back to its former glory. When that comes up to par, Celestino said they’ll launch a marketing campaign to bring folks in and additional services, like more entertainment.

“I want to, one step at a time, make progress,” he said.

Celestino said they also plan to bring back a popular club night, which started and ended under the previous managers.

With a cosmopolitan menu and late-night dance parties, they’re also hoping to attract a younger dining audience, people age 30-60, Celestino said.

“It’s not just retirees anymore,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are young here in the area.”