Cape Coral Dynamic Nightlife Appeals to Younger Crowd

Posted on Oct 21, 2015

This Southwest Florida city is quickly veering from “God’s Waiting Room” to the city that never sleeps. Last week, a Cape Coral City Council ordinance extended downtown bar hours to 4 a.m.

The ordinance reflects a similar measure taken by St. Petersburg five years ago. Since extending bar hours in 2010, the Florida city saw an impressive rise in downtown business.

Cape Coral’s new law will likely change the way many see the city, commonly referred to as “Cape Coma,” a playful jab at the city’s elderly population. In fact, Cape Coral’s 65 and older crowd makes up 17 percent of the population.

But now that its weekend nightlife lasts well into early morning, Cape Coral speaks to a younger audience, and it’s doing so in more ways than one. Not only is the city seeing a change in bar hours, but it’s also enhancing its entertainment district into a trendier area.

Recently, popular Cape Coral country bar Dixie Roadhouse hosted concerts with globally recognized artists like Blake Shelton and Big & Rich. Additionally, brew pubs are popping up all over the city, catering to the growing craft beer movement in Southwest Florida.

All of these new developments encourage young folk to venture into Cape Coral and experience the steadily growing nightlife – and stay a while.

But before venues in the South Cape Entertainment District can operate until the wee hours, they must obtain a permit. If any of these late-night establishments accrue too many infractions, they risk losing their late-night status. For safety reasons, they’re also required to hire an off-duty Cape Coral Police Officer in addition to installing video surveillance.

Most Cape Coral establishments have yet to adopt the later bar hours, but some expressed interest in doing so. Stay tuned for long nights out in the Cape.