Stonewood restaurant owners' new concept Coastal Grill opens Monday in Port Orange

Stonewood Holdings will launch its latest restaurant concept Monday when its new Coastal Grill & Raw Bar in Port Orange opens at 11 a.m.

But the public can get a sneak preview this Saturday evening when the restaurant at 1078 Dunlawton Ave. hosts a charity fundraising event benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia/Flagler Counties. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased at the door or online at fs8.formsite.com.

"Two hundred fifty tickets have already been presold and we're expecting close to 400," said Stonewood Holdings CEO Steve Papero.

The charity, from 5 to 8 p.m., will feature live music, food samples from Coastal Grill's menu, samples of its wide selection of craft beers as well as drink samples from Copper Bottom Distillery in Holly Hill, whose beverages the new restaurant will also be offering as part of its regular menu.

Coastal Grill is located in the former Stonewood Grill & Tavern restaurant on Dunlawton which closed in late August to undergo an extensive makeover.

The new restaurant offers a more extensive menu of fresh seafood and chowder offerings, as well as a raw bar and selection of smoked meats, while also continuing to carry some popular Stonewood Grill standbys such as steaks.

"The concept is a bit more casual, it's really a come as you are kind of place," said Papero.

Stonewood Grill restaurants, by contrast, are more "polished casual," he said.

And unlike most Stonewood Grills that are only open for dinner, Coastal Grill will also be open for lunch seven days a week. Its regular hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

The restaurant will also initially offer live music in the evening Thursday through Saturday, which could be expanded early next year to include brunchtime on Saturdays and Sundays.

"The vibe will be feel good," Papero said.

Approximately 80 workers began training this past Monday with another 10 to 15 set to be added in the coming week, Papero said, adding,. "We're still looking for more."

The restaurant will be led by General Manager Mary Pat Jones, who previously managed the Port Orange Stonewood Grill and is one of Stonewood Holdings' original employees.

Daytona Beach-based Stonewood Holdings is the parent company of both the Stonewood Grill and Peach Valley Cafe chains, as well as its new Coastal Grill concept.

Menu offerings at Coastal Grill will range in price from $8 to $11 for lunch and $9 to the "low $20s" for dinner. The lunch menu will include a "Pick 2" special where customers can choose two items from either the restaurant's fresh chowder and gumbo offerings, its fresh salads, and its "mains" lunch entrees.

Papero declined to say how much the company spent to revamp the former Port Orange Stonewood Grill, saying only that it was a "significant investment" that included "addressing wear-and-tear issues on a 25-year-old building," as well as creating a new floor plan, and replacing much of the kitchen equipment, as well as adding a Southern Pride smoker and building a raw bar.