GPIA awarded $100,000 for island recovery Street Eats and Ale opening sometime in April

the Cordon Bleu as a certified executive chef, plans to open the new place with his wife Natasha sometime in April

“I’ve cooked for really good chefs in my life I’ve cooked at Dallas Cowboys Stadium Over my years I’ve done a lot of fine dining,” Freeman said For the past 25 years, Freeman’s family has owned the Smoke and Oyster Brewery on Fort Myers Beach He said, although he was born and raised there, he’s thought a great deal about coming out to Pine Island due to his various island connections

“I don’t like the hustle and bustle I like this laid-back, rural lifestyle, so it’s always been a dream of mine to come out here,” Freeman said

When Hurricane Ian destroyed the family restaurant on the beach, Freeman immediately began a food truck It was roughly a week later that friend and fellow restaurateur Mike Miceli called Freeman and told him he had put the building up for sale, which previously housed his restaurant, El Pollo Rico Freeman said when he got the call, he jumped on the opportunity to lease with the option to buy He looks forward to serving what he calls street-themed food

“It’s going to be very fast, easy style food, but gourmet at the same time,” Freeman said.

His Smash Burger, he said, is a combination of ground