Paul Fleming Restaurants to open diner in Founders Square

Lake Park Diner, a concept that began from a food truck and is now run in part by the founder of Fleming’s Steakhouse and P.F. Chang’s brands, is readying to open its second Naples location.

The first Lake Park Diner opened in October 2019, when Southwest Florida entrepreneur Adam Smith expanded his Smith Organics concept. That location is the Lake Park neighborhood in Naples. Now part of the Paul Fleming Restaurant Group, the second Lake Park Diner will be in Founders Square in north Naples, according to a statement. That location is scheduled to open in late April, the release adds. 

Founders Square is a mixed-use project consisting of residences, office space and self-storage units on a 55-acre site at the corner of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard.

Lake Park Diner officials say the menu and concept revolves around a chef-driven organic ingredient experience. “The use of steroids, antibiotics, hormones or GMOs are not present in any of the food offered at Lake Park Diner,” the company says in the statement.

The Paul Fleming Restaurant Group overseeing the Lake Park Diner brand is run by husband-wife team Paul Fleming and Jody Goodenough-Fleming. Paul Fleming worked in the oil and gas business in Denver prior to getting into restaurants in the early 1980s, when he acquired the rights to the Ruth's Chris Steak House brand for California, Arizona and Hawaii. His first Ruth's Chris was in Beverly Hills. He later started national brands Fleming’s Steakhouse and P.F. Chang’s. More recently, the couple opened PJK Neighborhood Chinese in Naples. 

“Opening Lake Park Diner in Founders Square brings an exhilarating new energy to our brand, and it’s all thanks in part to the hard work and creative vision of my wife, (CEO) Jody Goodenough-Fleming and our COO, Paul Donahue,” Paul Fleming says. “We are thankful for all our current team members who are working tirelessly to ensure the success of this grand opening. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental in bringing the vision to life.”

A job fair for the Founders Square location will be held later this month.