Destiny Jennings has spent a lifetime in the restaurant business.
In her last gig at Stevie Tomatoes in Fort Myers, the longtime Floridian went “from being a server to general manager.”
“I was always working my butt off for someone else,” Jennings said. “My husband is very supportive. He said to go start my own place, it’s the only way I’d be happy.”
On July 19, she did just that when she opened Wicked Pub off Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
It’s hidden away (with no obvious signage yet) in Taste of Europe’s former corner spot — and MiNa’s Bistro before that —at The Colonial Center, the same plaza that houses Kyoto Sushi & Hibachi and El Gaucho Inca Restaurant.
“It’s a great location,” Jennings said, adding that many of her regulars come from Florida Academy career school in the same plaza. “The staff and students have been so kind. They are great people.”
She describes her space as “a local hangout spot.”
“It’s a no-judgment zone,” she said. “People are coming in and having fun. They like to sit at the bar. Or come by for takeout.”
The long, lean bar runs the length of the dining room with a few low tops in the middle and high tops running along the wall. It’s casual, welcoming and a work in progress.
“We did some painting,” Jennings said. “Added some high tops. We are still deciding what to do with the rest of the space.”
In the meantime, she’s got things sorted out in the kitchen.
“I have a passion for cooking,” Jennings said. “I love feeding people.”
And she makes everything in-house.
“I make almost everything,” she said. “It’s my marinara, my pizza dough, sausage, everything. I even make my own mozzarella sticks. The chicken and beef are fresh, never frozen.”
Her smash burgers are a best-seller so far.
“The chicken tenders too,” Jennings said. “And wings have been getting people’s attention.”
Her pizza has been gaining in popularity too.
“I can’t keep enough dough in stock,” she said. “I’m making new batches every day.”
Those batches need about three days to be ready.
“I did a lot of research,” she said. “I made a lot of different doughs. My husband was testing the pizza every day until he said he was getting pizza-ed out. I told him it had to be perfect.”
She settled on doing Chicago-style pizza — “thin and crispy and cut into squares.”
“It’s super thin,” she said. “I kind of fell into (pizza making). This place came with two pizza ovens.”
Build your own or opt for one of 10 specialty pies — from teriyaki or Buffalo chicken to the BLT or spicy pig with wicked garlic sauce, mozzarella, house-made sausage, bacon, corn salsa, lime, jalapenos and barbecue sauce.
The usual pub starters are all there — fried pickles, loaded fries, chicken tenders, macho nachos, Wicked nuts (fresh pizza dough fried and tossed in garlic butter and parmesan cheese) and more.
Sandwiches, salads and signatures (think tacos, chicken mac & cheese, ribs and spaghetti with homemade meatballs) round out the menu.
Domestic, imported and craft beer is served along with red and white wines and seltzers.
“We recently got happy hour going,” Jennings said.
That runs from 3-7 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday and all day Friday.
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Coffee — hot, iced and flavored lattes — is available, as are hand-crafted lotus energy drinks and kava & kratom.
“That’s all my daughter,” Jennings said. “She’s also doing all the social media.”
Jennings, meanwhile, can be found in the kitchen.
“I’m always back there cooking,” she said. “I kind of like to do it myself. I’m keeping it small so the quality doesn’t change.”
As word gets out, Jennings is pleased with the reception her Wicked Pub is getting.
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“Although people think I’m from Boston,” she joked. “The name Wicked just kind of stuck. I’m originally from Texas.”
Wicked Pub, 4391 Colonial Blvd., Unit 104, Fort Myers; open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Monday; outdoor seating is available and the patio is dog-friendly; take-out and delivery available; (239) 362-0344; wicked-pub.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Wicked Pub opens in Fort Myers with thin pizza, smash burgers, more
