Slate’s now offering a side dish of jazz with your entree
Slate’s in Cape Coral has served some of the finest side dishes to accompany its many popular entrees for the last three years, but recently, owners Nancy and Allan Cotter have upped the ante.
The Cajun and Caribbean fine dining restaurant now has live jazz music to go along with an already unique menu.
Slate’s Sidedoor Jazz Club opened its doors on the weekend of Sept. 2-4 and plans to feature some of Florida’s best jazz musicians in its intimate addition every week, running from Wednesday through Saturday evening, as well as Sunday brunch.
The Cotters have combined two of their greatest passions – food and music – to create Slate’s Sidedoor Jazz Club. Before becoming a chef, Allan was a jazz musician, so the union was a natural fit.
“We wanted to have good music go with good food,” Allan Cotter said. “We have always liked the blues and jazz aspect of music, and that just adds to our nice, comfortable atmosphere.”
Fine dining is also a forte’ of the Cotters. The two Maine natives owned and ran The Blue Moon Restaurant and Jazz Club on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands for 16 years. The successful restaurant became a destination for island guests, who flocked to The Blue Moon for its exquisite Caribbean-infused dished, with a twist of Cajun and served with a healthy dose of jazz.
But after 16 years on St. Croix, the Cotters decided to take retirement and they eventually settled in Cape Coral.
To fill their time and keep up with their passion of preparing food, the Cotters owned and operated a food truck, in which they would serve their cuisines on the go at local farmers markets.
“The food truck was the beginning of it,” Nancy said, and laughed. “People were telling us they wished we had a larger menu and more of a sit down restaurant. Although we told ourselves we would never open up another restaurant, we found ourselves driving around Cape Coral and seeing spots which would be good to open one up.”
Eventually passion won out, and in December of 2013 the Cotters moved into their new location at 4820 Candia Street, on the corner of Lafayette Street and Candia.
Serving their Cajun and Caribbean dishes, Slate’s became a popular destination quickly. Slate’s has been voted “Best Sunday Brunch,” “Best Restaurant” and “Best Casual Fine Dining” of Cape Coral by The Breeze Newspapers in 2015.
“We are a bit off the beaten path, but we are going to do our craft the best we can and people have found us,” Allan said. “What we learned on the Virgin Islands, is taking care of your guests is paramount, so we want to provide the best service and make them feel comfortable.”
But there was one aspect missing in which made The Blue Moon on the Virgin Islands more successful, and that was the music.
With Allan’s networking in the music world of Southwest Florida, the Cotters broke through the wall of Slate’s to a connect to a smaller unit and created Slate’s Sidedoor Jazz Club.
Everything in the Sidedoor Jazz Club cries intimacy, from its small stage, to the comfy couches.
The jazz puts the cherry on top of the cocktail.
“We were looking for the traditional, New Orleans type of jazz,” Allan said. “We also wanted skilled musicians with passion for their music. We set out to find the very best and from there, they knew other good musicians.”
Jazz musicians from as far as Tampa Bay and even Atlanta, Ga., will be playing in Slate’s Sidedoor Jazz Club.
Atlanta’s Bob Page, who is a renowned musician in the Georgia area, helped open the Jazz Club.
Other jazz musicians who will be playing include Hot Buttered Nuggets, Partners in Sound, Swing 2 Bop and Palm City Jazz.
Live jazz will be played Wednesday through Saturday evenings, starting at either 7 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. and Sundays will feature Dixieland music for brunch.
“Jazz is the perfect musical theme for our food,” Allan said. “It really dovetails into our theme for the restaurant. We want our guests to make an evening of it, be entertained. Come, relax, and enjoy the ambience. On top of that, we have a great staff to take care of you.
“At Slate’s, customer is king.”
Reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling 239-540-6800.
Visit Slate’s website for more information at www.slatescapecoral.com.