Through the end of October, Marker 36 at North Beach serves from its bar only. Its indoor and outdoor dining rooms stay closed for the month. The trams that carry residents to the sand make 18 runs a day, up from 14 in the first half of the month. On Sunday, Nov. 1, both numbers change, and the beach goes onto the schedule it keeps through April.
The buildings returning to full service on Nov. 1 are also the subject of an engineering study. Stantec is testing them against the next storm, and the Pelican Bay Foundation expects to hear the results at a board meeting open to members in December or January. This season, the lunch reservation and the long-term question share the same building.
What Changes on Sunday, Nov. 1
The Foundation's FY2027 approved budget package sets out food-and-beverage hours and tram counts month by month. Here is how November compares with October. These are budgeted operating schedules, not a live status feed, so weather and staffing can still change any given day.
- Marker 36, North Beach. Indoor and outdoor dining reopen at 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. after a closed October. The bar and lounge keeps the same 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. hours it ran in October. The Foundation describes the Marker 36 menu as island- and Caribbean-inspired, built on local and seasonal ingredients, with seasonal live music Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m.
- Sandbar, South Beach. Sandbar opened Oct. 15 on shorter hours, with dining and bar service from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. In November it stays open until 8:30 p.m. The Foundation calls Sandbar newly renovated, with a casual room, member-favorite food, wine and cocktails, and music Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 8 p.m.
- The Nest. This snack-and-drinks spot sits just south of Sandbar. Its take-out bar runs noon to sunset, weather permitting, every month of the year.
- Trams. Daily runs go from 18 in the second half of October to 28 starting Nov. 1. The Express is not scheduled at all from May through October. It returns with two runs per shift. Stations 4, 5 and 8 each move to four runs per shift. The Transportation Department's operating day stays at 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
The 28-a-day count holds without a break from Nov. 1 through April 30, including Thanksgiving week and Christmas week. Easter week is the only time in the budget with more, at 30.
The full-year table also shows that the two restaurants take turns in the off months. Marker 36 closes its dining rooms in June and July and runs at limited capacity in August and September. Sandbar keeps full hours through July and then closes in August and September. In most months, at least one of the two is serving dinner. November through April is the stretch when both are, which makes it the period when members use these two buildings the most.
The Sand Was Repaired First
The Foundation is studying the restaurants now because the sand in front of them has already been rebuilt.
According to the October 2026 Pelican Bay Post, the Pelican Bay Services Division assessment for Fiscal Year 2027 is $1,250 per Equivalent Residential Unit. That is a $300 drop, or 20%, from the prior year, and the Post links it to finishing a major dune and beach restoration project after the 2024 hurricanes. Almost all of the reduction comes from one line. The Post's comparison shows the capital portion falling from $747 in FY26 to $401 in FY27. The operating portion rises from $768 to $789, and the Clam Bay portion rises from $35 to $60. The ad valorem rate holds at 0.0857.
With the large beach rebuild paid for, the remaining capital and operating money goes to longer-term resilience work. The Post lists continued resiliency for the beaches and Clam Bay, lake bank and stormwater repairs, landscape and signage improvements, more mangrove plantings, hand-dug channels in Clam Bay, and debt service on the community-wide sidewalk replacement project. Assessments vary by property, and this post is general information, not tax or financial advice, so owners should confirm their own figures with PBSD or their own advisor.
The Restaurants Are Next
The same issue of the Post describes the second phase. The Foundation's Resiliency and Natural Resources Committee has been looking for ways to lower costs, limit damage and shorten recovery time for the beach restaurants when coastal storms hit. It sent a Request for Proposal to four firms and selected Stantec Consulting Services to carry out a detailed evaluation and feasibility study.
Stantec's scope of work is dated June 29, 2026, and is posted on the Pelican Bay website. The Post summarizes it in three parts.
- Site data. Stantec will collect real-time data on wind speeds, storm surge and debris impact on the existing restaurants. It will also produce a topographical survey covering elevations, flood zone designations, mean high water lines and sand berms.
- Permitting and regulatory review. Both restaurants sit within Florida's Coastal Construction Control Line, which the Post describes as a seaward area of heightened concern because of its ecosystems and storm exposure. Stantec will review requirements from FEMA, FDEP, USACE, SFWMD, Collier County and others, then outline the approvals needed to repair, upgrade or replace the existing buildings.
- Storm-resilience alternatives. Stantec will identify feasible ways to harden each restaurant, supported by graphic models, conceptual architectural drawings, elevations, site plans and preliminary structured cost estimates.
The Post's description of the third part is specific about what the study will deliver. Stantec will identify "two 'best' options, including one for each restaurant," for presentation to the committee and the Foundation Board. So Marker 36 and Sandbar will each come back with their own recommended option and its own cost estimate. The study is not limited to repairs. It covers repair, upgrade or replacement, and so far nothing published says which way either building is headed.
The timeline is approximate. The Post says the work began Aug. 6 and was expected to take about four months. Depending on when it finishes and how long the presentation runs, Stantec intends to present at either the December or January Foundation Board meeting, "which of course will be open to all members." The authors expect time for questions and say a longer presentation could justify a separate session for the Board and members.
Put that next to the restaurant hours and the timing is clear. The options will reach members in the middle of the November-to-April stretch when both dining rooms are on full hours and the trams are at 28 runs a day. The study is about the buildings members are using most at that point in the year.
The Winter Calendar, in Order
Here are the beach and resilience dates through winter, from the Foundation budget, the Post and Collier County's Pelican Bay Services page:
- Sunday, Nov. 1. Tram service rises to 28 runs a day, the Express returns, Marker 36 reopens its dining rooms, and Sandbar extends to evening hours.
- Thursday, Nov. 5, 1:30 p.m. The PBSD Clam Bay Committee meets at 8960 Hammock Oak Drive.
- Friday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. The PBSD Budget Committee meets at 801 Laurel Oak Drive, Suite 301.
- Thanksgiving week. Trams stay at 28 runs a day under the holiday schedule.
- December or January Foundation Board meeting. Stantec is expected to present its recommended option for each restaurant, open to all members.
- April 30. The 28-run tram schedule ends. Service drops to 14 a day from May 1, and Marker 36 shortens to 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in May.
Beach operations can also stop at short notice for weather. The Foundation has explained that a Thor Guard lightning Red Alert halts all tram and beach operations until the all-clear. During an alert, available trams have 13 minutes to bring riders back to Station 4, the Commons, or Station 8, the North Lot. The Foundation's tram service page describes the system as electric trams serving eight stations along a raised berm, connected to boardwalks that run through the mangroves.
If you own in Pelican Bay or are thinking about it, the Stantec options for Marker 36 and Sandbar will be part of what the beach looks like over the next several years. Kaleena Figaro follows Foundation and PBSD decisions as closely as we follow sales, and we're glad to go through what the December or January presentation could mean for the buildings and blocks you're considering. Start Your Naples Home Search with a team that tracks the Pelican Bay beach as closely as the market.
