Former Garry’s Grill Owner Heads South With New Restaurant Venture

It was 2008 when longtime Severna Park business owner Garry Anderson decided to pack his bags, sell his popular restaurants - Garry’s Grill and Woodfire – and retire to Florida. The Maryland restaurateur, who was instrumental in building a handful of successful eateries and catering companies in Anne Arundel County throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s – Capers in Cape St. Claire, Garry’s Grill and Woodfire in Severna Park, The Main Ingredient in Annapolis, and Quarterfield Grill in Glen Burnie – was completely finished with the food industry. Or so he thought.

After spending a few years of semi-retirement in Naples, Florida, Anderson once again was feeling the urge to open a new restaurant. With both his son and daughter on board, he began scoping out potential restaurant space in the north Naples area, where he could serve local patrons a menu that boasted the most popular dishes from his previous restaurants in Maryland. Also fueling the fire to open a new eatery was the fact Anderson noticed something missing from the menus of nearly every Naples-area restaurant – a good, old-fashioned, authentic Maryland-style crab cake.

“Being from the Annapolis area, I really wanted to offer people in Florida the opportunity to have a real, authentic Maryland crab cake,” he explained.

The next question Anderson faced was what to call the new establishment. After toying around with some names, he and his family kept coming back to Capers – yes, the same name as Anderson’s very first restaurant in Cape St. Claire all those years ago.

“I figured I started with Capers… I might as well end with Caper’s,” he chuckled. “Everything has really come full-circle,” he added.

And so, this past October 29 Capers Kitchen & Bar opened in north Naples, where the Garry Anderson-owned restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Some of the most popular menu items have a familiar sound - and taste - including the crab cake benedict, Capers salad (which not so coincidentally is very similar to the Garry’s salad still served at Garry’s Grill today), ultimate shrimp mac ‘n cheese, veggie chili and, of course, the delectable pumpkin muffins. Capers also boasts fresh-made cocktails, draft beer and a wine list that includes approximately 30 different options.

“Apparently Naples is a very popular destination for Severna Park residents, because since we’ve opened I’ve seen a lot of familiar faces come through our doors,” noted Anderson. “It’s great to have a little piece of Severna Park right here in Florida. I invite everyone to come down and stop in for some good cooking from back home.”

For more information on Capers Kitchen & Bar, visit www.caperskitchen.com.