"Scheduled to open at the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027." That is how RH described its Naples project in the shareholder letter it released with second-quarter results on September 10. The project is a garden-courtyard compound with a central atrium restaurant, going up on the old Nordstrom corner at Waterside Shops. The window is a little wider than the "late 2026" still posted on Waterside's own RH announcement from April. It also fits how the whole center is moving.
Across US-41 from Pelican Bay, Waterside is going into this season with new stores in place and most of its new dining still behind construction walls. Three large restaurant projects were announced for 2026. One is open. The other two are on timelines that run to the end of the year or into 2027. Meanwhile, almost every store move announced this summer has opened, is about to open, or has a firm date.
One new dining room is open, and it's on the quiet corner
Eddie V's Prime Seafood opened June 7 at 765 Seagate Drive, on the center's southwest corner. Gulfshore Business describes a freestanding 9,991-square-foot restaurant built inside a heavily renovated former bank office at Seagate Drive and Myra Janco Daniels Boulevard. The menu centers on seafood flown in from around the world and hand-carved steaks, with live jazz every night in the V Lounge.
Eddie V's had a head start because its building stood apart from everything else. Darden's team could work on a standalone parcel without waiting for an inline tenant to leave. The other two restaurant projects had to wait for someone else to move out first.
Buck & Rider is waiting on the old Brio space
Buck & Rider is a seafood restaurant from Scottsdale-based Hi Noon Hospitality, and it is taking over the 7,617-square-foot space Brio Tuscan Grille held for years. When the deal was first reported, the opening date depended on when the restaurant could get the building. CEO Adam Strecker told Gulfshore Business he was "really, really pushing for November."
That target is gone. Brio closed April 12. The space at 5505 Tamiami Trail N. has been closed off for construction since then, and Waterside's listing for Buck & Rider now says "Coming Early 2027." The summer Gulfshore Business update gives the same early-2027 target, so the restaurant will open after this season's busiest weeks, not during them.
RH is the one with a chance at December
The biggest project is also the one with the clearest shot at opening this season. Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond is building a campus of nearly 30,000 square feet on the old Nordstrom footprint, empty since that store closed in 2020. Galleries of home furnishings connect by landscaped walkways to a central RH Naples restaurant under a glass atrium. Hoodline reported on October 10 that construction is underway at the northwest corner, at 5489 Tamiami Trail N., a separate address from the main center at 5415. WhatNow gives the same late-2026 target and describes a 174-seat restaurant and wine bar.
The investor letter also shows why the Naples opening matters to RH beyond Waterside. The company calls the RH Compound "our new real estate strategy": several buildings joined by garden courtyards. Naples is the first one under construction, and a second in Aventura is set to open in 2027. So the building going up near Seagate is the first test of a new format for RH, which may explain why the company left itself room to open in early 2027.
The stores moved faster because they mostly traded places
Most of this year's retail arrivals came out of tenants switching spaces inside the center. Pottery Barn left its inline space this year to join Williams Sonoma in a two-story outparcel at the northwest corner of US-41 and Seagate Drive. That one move freed up two big blocks of interior space, and most of this year's arrivals have filled them in:
- Dior moved out of its store-within-a-store at Saks Fifth Avenue on June 11. It opened a 6,000-square-foot boutique in part of the former Williams Sonoma space plus some neighboring smaller units.
- Vuori, the California athletic and performance-wear brand, opened September 4 in part of the former Pottery Barn space, at 5475 Tamiami Trail N., Suite A7.
- Anthropologie is moving into the rest of the former Pottery Barn space, combined with the unit Ann Taylor left, for an 8,500-square-foot store.
Other swaps followed the same pattern. Piranesi, an Italian fine jewelry house, now shows as "Now Open" on its Waterside page. It took the 781-square-foot unit across from Dior that Gulf Coast International Properties had vacated. Omega is selling from a temporary space near True Food Kitchen until it moves into a smaller 1,848-square-foot unit near Santa Fe Café in late 2026 or early 2027. Van Cleef & Arpels will then take Omega's old 2,519-square-foot space.
Fitting out a storefront another store just left is a smaller job than turning a 7,617-square-foot Italian dining room into a seafood restaurant, and far smaller than putting up a 30,000-square-foot campus where a department store stood. This season's lineup follows that order.
Where everything stands in mid-October
| Business | Location at Waterside | Former occupant | Status, mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie V's Prime Seafood | 765 Seagate Dr., southwest corner | Bank office | Open since June 7 |
| Dior | 5375-5 Tamiami Trail N., near Saks | Williams Sonoma and adjoining units | Open since June 11 |
| Vuori | 5475 Tamiami Trail N., Suite A7 | Pottery Barn, in part | Open since September 4 |
| Piranesi | 5435-19 Tamiami Trail N., near Gucci | Gulf Coast International Properties | Open |
| Anthropologie | 5475-1 Tamiami Trail N., near Sephora | Pottery Barn and Ann Taylor | Closed starting October 19 for the move; reopening date to come |
| LoveShackFancy | 5455-1 Tamiami Trail N., near Sephora | Häagen-Dazs and L'Occitane | Holiday 2026 |
| Peter Millar | 5485-9 Tamiami Trail N. | White House Black Market | Late 2026 |
| RH Naples | 5489 Tamiami Trail N., northwest corner | Nordstrom | End of 2026 or beginning of 2027 |
| TWP | 5455-7 Tamiami Trail N., near Tory Burch | Not announced | Early 2027 |
| Buck & Rider | 5505 Tamiami Trail N. | Brio Tuscan Grille | Early 2027 |
The next few weeks reshape the eastern side
The most noticeable changes before Thanksgiving are on the eastern side, near Sephora. Waterside announced that Anthropologie would be closed starting Monday, October 19 while it moves from its longtime store on the northern edge. The center says to "stay tuned for opening announcements and events" at the new space. Across the walkway, LoveShackFancy is building out a 1,356-square-foot suite in the combined former Häagen-Dazs and L'Occitane units, which closed at the end of May. Waterside lists its opening as "Holiday 2026" and has not named a day.
Peter Millar, the premium sportswear and golf apparel brand, is still listed for late 2026 in the 2,517-square-foot former White House Black Market. TWP, announced September 1 for a unit near Tory Burch, is aiming for early 2027.
For dinner on the Waterside side of Seagate this season, Eddie V's is the one new option you can count on. RH's atrium restaurant may join it around the turn of the year, and Buck & Rider is expected in early 2027. Waterside's events page had not posted a date for a tree lighting or Santa visit as of mid-October.
If the changes at Waterside have you rethinking which Pelican Bay building or address puts the new dining rooms and storefronts within easy reach, I'm glad to walk through it with you. With Michael Moreiras, the conversation starts with the details that shape your routine. Let's Connect.
