Boston restaurant chain opens new Naples location

A New England restaurant known for its made-to-order roast beef sandwiches and seafood now has five Florida locations, with its latest opening in Naples on March 19.

Kelly’s Roast Beef welcomed customers to its newest venture, in the Gateway Shoppes on Tamiami Trail North. The 3,500-square-foot restaurant offers dine-in, drive-through and carryout service.

The classic Kelly’s roast beef sandwich features medium-rare roast beef, a sesame bun, James River BBQ sauce, mayonnaise and American cheese. The menu also features lobster rolls, homemade clam chowder, scallops, whole-bellied clams and soft-serve ice cream. Each restaurant roasts its beef in-house throughout the day, according to a statement.

This marks the second Kelly’s restaurant for Naples, where an eatery opened in August 2023 in Founders Square, and it comes as the franchise is expanding on the Gulf Coast.

Image via Kelly's Roast Beef Florida / Facebook

Kelly’s initially entered the Florida market in 2022 with the opening of its location at University Town Center, the popular shopping and dining district in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The company deemed Florida a good location for franchising because of its dynamic business climate, pandemic-era policies and the sizable number of New Englanders who are residents, snowbirds or frequent visitors to the state, an executive with Kelly’s Roast Beef Franchising told the Business Observer in 2023. At the time, the plan was to have 10 Florida restaurants open in two years.

With the opening of the Gateway Shoppes restaurant on Wednesday, Kelly’s now has five locations in the Sunshine State:

• 8465 Dani Drive at Palmetto Commons, Fort Myers
• 8900 Founders Square Drive, Naples
• 13585 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
• 1530 Pasadena Ave. S., South Pasadena
• 5407 University Parkway, University Park

A sixth location is expected to open this spring off US 301 at Creekside Commons in Parrish. The Kelly’s website also shows a restaurant is coming soon to 8140 Little Road in New Port Richey.

RAVentures Hospitality is the franchisee for Kelly’s Roast Beef on the west coast of Florida, where officials say the concept has taken off.

"Our guests in Southern Florida have proven that they enjoy Kelly's uniquely New England fare along with the quality and value we bring to these communities," RAVentures Hospitality Regional Director Jeff Doward says in a statement. "We truly enjoy serving our crave-worthy food to both newcomers to Kelly's and to those who consider us a ‘taste of home' for some of our locals and tourists from Kelly's hometown in the Northeast.”

The company has locations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in addition to Florida.

Kelly's, which was founded in 1951 outside Boston, anticipates serving 1 million sandwiches this year.