Florida
New Cape Coral restaurant opens with old Florida flavor, look and feel
Watch: Baby gators swim in their tank at Florida Boy Burger Co.
Four baby gators hang out an 8-by-2-foot tank in the dining room of the new Cape Coral restaurant
Stuffed squirrels, gators and a wild boar’s head are mounted on the walls. Taxidermied gator heads with mouths wide open and rattlesnakes in striking position are scattered about on tables and shelves. Four live baby gators swim around an 8-by-2-foot tank in the middle of the dining room. Oh, then there is the skin of a python stretching from floor to ceiling.
“That was caught a year ago in the Everglades,” Roger Lolly says matter-of-factly. “It’s about 10 feet, one of the larger ones I caught that day.”
Welcome to Florida Boy Burger Co.’s newest Cape Coral location, where old Florida is everywhere.
It’s expected to open at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in FK Your Diet’s old spot off Del Prado Boulevard.
“We wanted to expand at some point, but this happened so quickly,” said Louis Cioffi, a co-owner along with Lolly. “This spot was too good to pass up.”
“We’re going to get this one going, chill out a bit and keep going,” added Lolly (Floridaboyinc on Instagram) as he put the finishing touches on one of the mounted gators. “We have investors reaching out to us from all over.”
An old Florida and Pine Island feel
For now, though, the focus is on this new Cape location, basically a carbon copy of the original location that opened last July near the intersection of Fowler Street and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
Look closely and you’ll see references to Pine Island in the photos of Lolly’s father mullet fishing, his grandfather and uncle, and of Summer Dooley whose fishing family is “legendary to the island.”
“There’s a little more Pine Island at this one,” said Lolly, who grew up there. “It’s important to us.”
The two have spent the last three months getting ready for Friday’s opening.
“It’s been a project,” Cioffi said. “There are no shortcuts here. Everything we do is meaningful.”
Especially when it comes to the menu.
Some changes made to the original menu
“That’s the same for now, but we’re making some changes,” Cioffi said. “We got rid of the steaks and the tacos. And we’re adding gator bites.”
Other changes include making the Bangor Bash “less Louisiana” by replacing the boudin and andouille with venison sausage and wild boar cheddar and jalapeno sausage, and gator too.
“We’re making it more Florida,” Cioffi said.
“We listened to our customers,” Lolly said. “They asked, we listened and made some changes.”
All about the burgers
The biggest changes can be found in their signature burgers, some of which will be renamed when the new menu comes out.
“Our burgers are seasoned now,” Cioffi said. “They have great flavor now. Everyone seems to like it.”
Watch: A 10-foot long python skin adorns a wall at Florida Boy Burger
Roger Lolly mounted the skin from a 10-foot Burmese python he caught in the Everglades at his Florida Boy Burger Co. in Cape Coral.
The signature burgers are works of art at Florida Boy Burger.
One is topped with alligator sausage, blackened crabmeat, spicy pimento, pickled red onions and arugula, while another features bacon BBQ pork, cheddar and onion straws. Some come with bacon onion jam, a sunny-side-up egg or beer-battered lobster.
If it all seems too much, no worries.
“We have an original Florida burger,” Cioffi said. “It’s plain with cheese, lettuce, tomato. It’s not on the menu right now but just ask for it. It comes with fries for $12. We don’t want anyone to be overwhelmed. Keep it simple.”
Appetizers (think frog legs, blue crab fritters, house-made pickles and more), salads, handhelds, specialty fries and milkshakes (extraordinary ones mixed with Fruity Pebbles, Key lime pie, banana pudding and cookies and cream!) round out the menu.
Burger-esque alligator patties are in the works, along with an all-Florida beef option.
“That will be a 100 percent Florida-raised and processed beef option,” Cioffi said. “We want to support local farmers. All the greens, vegetables and fruits are local. We want to do the same with our beef.”
What’s next?
Florida Boy Burger will open Feb. 21 with little fanfare.
“There’s no soft opening, no test run,” Lolly said. “We’re going to hit the ground running. Once it’s going, we will look for another location. Orlando, Jacksonville. We want to go to Naples, North Port. We want to be part of communities. Like Louis says, ‘Come in as a customer and leave as family.’”
Here’s to a growing family.
Florida Boy Burger Co., 1402 Del Prado Blvd S., Suite 4, Cape Coral and 4480 Fowler St., Suite 110, Fort Myers; (239) 245-7145; burgers.inc or follow on Facebook
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)— A Florida mental health counselor walked into a surprising number of bats inside her office last week.
“We had about 50 bats. In the toilet, in the sink. All over,” Shaltala Boss, a licensed mental health counselor, said.
Boss has since moved her office due to maternity season, when it is illegal to exclude or remove bats from April 16 to August 14, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“Any form of eviction during this time period will result in baby bats being trapped along with adult bats that may not have emerged. Trapped bats will attempt to escape and may end up in the living space of buildings,” FWC said.
Video provided by Boss showed a bat lying on the ground.
“You definitely didn’t want to come to counseling that day,” Boss said.
Boss has since moved to another location and said it is bat-free.
“Most bats will avoid humans at all costs and use natural roosting structures for shelter during the day. However, bats sometimes find their way into our homes and structures, which can present a health hazard,” FWC said.
Republican Congressman Byron Donalds is trailing Democratic candidate David Jolly in the race to become Florida’s next governor, according to a new poll from Change Research, a Democratic-aligned polling firm.
The survey could be an encouraging sign for Florida Democrats, who have not won a statewide election since 2018 and have struggled as the state shifted steadily toward Republicans in recent election cycles.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in 2026, won a second term by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022, while Republicans have expanded their voter registration advantage and maintained control of every statewide elected office.
Still, some recent polling has suggested the push to replace DeSantis could be a bit more competitive than many have expected.
President Donald Trump last month again vocalized his support for Donalds, saying in part, “I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER!” The president added, “Byron Donalds will be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Trump won the Sunshine State by 13 points in 2024 against then-Vice President Kamala Harris and no Democrat has won the Florida governorship in more than 20 years.
When reached for comment regarding the new poll, Donalds’ campaign referred Newsweek to the X post of Gates McGavick, the team’s communications director. McGavick said in reaction to the poll, “I hear Change Research also sells tremendous ocean front property in Arizona.”
The campaign also referred Newsweek to Ryan Smith’s post on X, while saying he is also affiliated with the campaign. Smith said, “This is a push poll by Democrats for Democrats. The truth is, Florida Democrats will be crying in their kombucha on November 3 when @ByronDonalds is elected governor.”
What To Know
The Change Research survey found Jolly, a former Republican congressman who switched parties and entered the race as a Democrat, leading Donalds in a hypothetical general-election matchup.
Jolly has centered his campaign on affordability issues surrounding insurance costs, housing and healthcare, while Donalds has campaigned as a conservative successor who will attempt to enact Trump’s agenda and fight illegal immigration.
According to the poll, Jolly leads Donalds 47 percent to 42 percent and has a slightly larger margin among likely voters with 49 percent compared to 43 percent.
The poll surveyed 1,273 registered voters of which 1,015 said they will likely vote in the 2026 midterm election. The survey’s margin of error is 2.8 percent.
Also in the poll, Jolly garners 94 percent support from Democrats compared to Donalds’ 77 percent among Republicans.
What Other Polls Show
Another recent Change Research poll shows Jolly leading Donalds 46 percent to 42 percent. The poll was taken from May 13 to May 16 among 2,070 registered voters, of whom 1,593 say they will likely vote in the midterm election. The poll has a margin of error of 2.3 percent.
In a survey at the end of March by Emerson College Polling, Donalds landed 44 percent of the vote compared to Jolly’s 39 percent. The poll shows that 17 percent are undecided. It was taken from March 29 to March 31 among 1,125 likely voters and has a margin of error of 2.8 percent.
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A recent viral trend — dubbed the “Door Kick Challenge” — has been causing issues as of late in Central Florida.
The challenge involves teens covering their faces, kicking or pounding stranger’s front door when it’s dark outside, and sprinting off into the night.
[WATCH: FCSO releases footage of ‘Door Kick Challenge’ in action]
But on Wednesday, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly warned there could be deadly consequences.
According to the sheriff’s office, these pranks may come across as an attempted home invasion for some, and with Florida being a “Stand Your Ground” state, neighbors have the right to treat it as such.
[ Central Florida deputy consoles 12-year-old accused in door-kicking incident]
“Parents, keep an eye on your children. We know they want to have fun, but they are taking huge risks when they mask up and kick strangers’ doors,” Staly said. “Be the sheriff of your own home, talk to your kids, know their friends, and make sure they know the risks associated with doing what the internet tells them to do.”
But in a release, the sheriff’s office delivered the message in a “language” that teens may better understand:
“This door kick ‘challenge’ is not the side quest you think it is.
It’s trendslop, pure brain rot straight off the FYP. You think you’re the alpha chad of the cul-de-sac? Nah bruh, you’re one hoodie masked-up sprint away from priors. The kind of rap that gets you cancelled before you ever stack any clout. Zero drip in our jail’s barbershop-looking mugshots.
Okay, real talk. Florida is a Stand Your Ground state. A NPC wakes up to two randos kicking their door at 1 a.m. wearing sheisties — they don’t see a flex, they get the ick, and think your side quest is a home invasion. And no cap, you’ll get capped.
Taking an L on TikTok? Recoverable. Taking a round to the chest? There’s no respawn.
So skip this one, chief. Find clout elsewhere.”
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
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