Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor

FMBGN-BIZ-Snug Harbor Restaurant-Chef Rizzo walk around

"Cabo" Jim Schaller Season 5 Episode 62

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 5:11

Step onto the dock with us and feel the Fort Myers Beach breeze as we tour Snug Harbor alongside Chef Rizzo. We wander the waterfront, talk shop about seafood handled the old-school way, and chase the kind of bay views that turn an ordinary meal into a memory. From dolphins putting on a show to boats pulling up right to the venue, this is coastal dining as a full-senses experience.

We dig into the shrimp parade that lights up the island each year, previewing a lineup that includes peel and eat shrimp, classic shrimp cocktail, tequila-kissed plates, comforting shrimp and grits, and a once‑a‑year gumbo you won’t find any other weekend. Chef Rizzo opens up about the craft behind their flavor: for forty years, Snug Harbor has unloaded its own boats and cut fish in-house, a dock-to-plate discipline that keeps texture firm, taste clean, and menus honest. That commitment to freshness sets them apart in a market where shortcuts are easy and quality shows.

There’s a lot more to love. After Hurricane Ian, Snug Harbor rebuilt with a flexible tiki space designed for weddings, birthdays, bachelorettes, and baby showers—events for 60 to 120 with tenting, heaters, and sides that drop when weather rolls in. Most days, the restaurant floats right over the water with almost every seat on the bay; locals swear by Table One for an “action view” of the channel where pirate ships glide and dolphins surface. We keep the tone bright, the conversation neighborly, and the focus on what makes a place feel like home: good people, real seafood, and a setting that refuses to be ordinary.

If the Gulf calls your name, queue this tour, mark your calendar for the shrimp parade, and come hungry for the catch. Subscribe for more local stories, share with a friend who loves waterfront dining, and leave a quick review to help other beach lovers find us.

Snug Harbor Restaurant
645 Old San Carlos Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
(239) 463-4343
snugharbormgt@gmail.com
snugharbor.restaurant
#SnugHarborRestaurant
#DocksideDining
#FreshSeafood
@snugharborwaterfrontrestaurant

Ft Myers Beach-Good Neighbor
To Nominate Someone to be Featured
Or
To Subscribe to the Newsletter
CLICK HERE
https://cabowabojim.com/listen-to-podcasts/

Welcome And Island Shout‑Outs

Intro/Close

Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor Podcast. No shade, no sunshine, drama-free, on the five only. Fort Myers Beach y'all love. Want to check out some island love, State Insurance USA, Snug Harbor, Nervous Nellies, and the Alex King Group. They're the good neighbors and businesses that allow us to share the soul of our community with every listener. Pull up each chair, grab a drink, and let's make this island feel at home. Here's your host, Cabo Jim Schaller. Welcome back to the show, everyone. This week we're coming to you from beautiful Snug Harbor restaurant right here on the bay in Fort Myers Beach. We're taking you along for a full tour of this local favorite, from the waterfront views to the atmosphere, the food, and everything that makes Snug Harbor such a special spot. So come with us as we explore one of Fort Myers Beach's classic bayfront destinations. Let's get started.

Meet Chef Rizzo And Weekend Plans

"Cabo" Jim

Welcome, Fort Myers Beach, good neighbors. Today we're at Snug Harbor with Chef Rizzo. How are we doing? Hey Cabo, how are you? I am awesome. You gotta take us for a little tour today.

Shrimp Parade Specials Preview

Chef Rizzo

So uh let's go for a walk. All right. Supposed to have some beautiful weather this weekend. We got the shrimp parade coming up. Gonna do a bunch of shrimp specials. Obviously, peel and eat shrimp, shrimp cocktail.

"Cabo" Jim

Shrimp any way you want it. Shrimp and tequila.

Post‑Ian Tiki And Events

Weddings And Parties By The Water

Dining Over The Bay

Best Seats And Action Views

Chef Rizzo

Yeah, shrimp and grits. Um and shrimp gumbo, which uh we only make one time a year for the shrimp parade. So this is uh tiki that we just built after uh Hurricane Ian. Um we do special events here. We can do events uh for 60 up to 120. We can uh put a wedding tent over this area here. Um so like weddings, we do birthday parties, we do bachelorette parties, uh baby showers, mainly weddings, a lot of weddings. We're about a from 100 to 120. We can fit here. Any reason to have a party? Yeah, exactly. And you can see it's right on the water. So people, some some parties they'll just come by boat, they'll dock their boats right here and walk right into the venue. Beautiful view, nice breeze all the time. We're just getting ready to open now, Cabo, but normally all the umbrellas are up. So you can see that the restaurant actually goes right out over the water. Um I I think every seat has a water water view. I'll show you the bet my best table, my favorite table. If we have inclement weather combo, we can put these sides down. We have heaters in here, so when there's inclement weather, we can service about 80 to 95 people under here, you know, protected from the rain and the cold. I think the cold's over. Out here we have these are the tables that go the quickest. And in my opinion, this table right out here, table number one.

"Cabo" Jim

I mean, how can you beat that? Yeah, nobody puts baby in the corner, but I'll sit in the corner because that's a great view right there.

Chef Rizzo

Yeah, that's that's what uh that's what I like. And it's an action view. You know, you're not sitting out, you're not staring out at the Gulf with nothing going on. There's always something going on here.

"Cabo" Jim

You got dolphins, you got the pirate ship.

Chef Rizzo

Oh man, the freaking dolphins yesterday, they were here for two hours. There was a little baby, and it was actually jumping right out of the water, just like SeaWorld, man. It was unbelievable.

"Cabo" Jim

Nature at its finest.

The Fresh Catch Difference

Future Fish‑Cutting Demo

Chef Rizzo

Yeah. What really separates us, Cabo, from everybody, all the other restaurants around here is we still for 40 years we've been unloading our own boats. I'm cutting thousands and thousands of pit fish in from the round. Uh, that's really the difference. And when I get with you next time, I'll show you. We'll do a video of me maybe cutting some fish and I'll cook you up something nice.

"Cabo" Jim

I will look forward to that. Appreciate it. Awesome. Thanks, Cabo. Take care. Thank you.

Intro/Close

Thanks for tuning in to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor podcast. No shade, just sunshine, drama-free, positive vibes only. If you loved what you heard, share it with a friend and keep the good vibes going. Until next time, remember to cabo until you wobbo and keep the good neighbor. Also, to nominate your favorite neighbors, local legends, heroes, or local businesses to be on the show. Go to fmbgoodneighbor.com. That's fmbgoodneighbor.com or call 239-447-4100. Want to send out some island love, we've church USA, Doug Harbor, their brother Elliot, and the Alex King Group, where the good neighbors and businesses that allow us to share all of our community. Celebrate all that makes Ft Myers Beach the paradise y'all love.