A Brief ‘Fishtory’
of the Timbers Restaurant
Welcome to The Timbers!
Our story began on October 24, 1978, when we first opened our doors at the original location on Rabbit Road on Sanibel Island, Florida. We started with a 150-seat steakhouse, named after our beautiful wooden beams and ceilings.
Shortly after opening, we recognized the demand for fresh fish and began sourcing fish directly from Ft. Myer’s Beach. The phrase “We serve it fresh… or we don’t serve it at all” became a hallmark of our service and continues to this day. With an increased demand for fish to cook at home, we then added a retail fish market and changed the name to The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market.
In 1991, The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market reopened in its current location at 703 Tarpon Bay Road, and pays tribute to its original location with plenty of beautiful wood and a fun, island and nautical theme. At this time, Timbers also became home to the Sanibel Grill, the island’s first sports bar. What began as a waiting area, soon became one of the island’s most popular casual dining spots for locals and visitors. If you are looking for a casual place to watch some sports in the area – this is it. With sports memorabilia lining the walls, you know you are in the right place.
Both are icons of the island. We continue to serve fresh seafood and steaks with a lot of personality, and have some of the best oysters in the area!
Timbers Fish Market
The retail fish market, located in the lobby of The Timbers Restaurant has been an integral part of The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market since 1980. We are dedicated to sourcing the freshest seafood the area has to offer, straight from local and northern waters. Sanibel locals rave about the selection and stop in daily for the latest catch. It has even caught on to the island’s visitors who are looking to cook some fresh seafood. From succulent oysters, fish fillets and plump, pink shrimp, our seafood market doesn’t disappoint.
With great thanks to hundreds of dedicated employees and to the two million plus customers, we’re sure The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market story will continue. We look forward to your continued patronage and would like you to remember, at The Timbers….
Fish Happens!
1973
Brothers Jim and Kipp Foster launched their first restaurant, The Rusty Nail, in Cortland, New York. They hired a young history major, Matt Asen, known as “the waiter with the pink bow tie.”
1974
After graduating college, Matt Asen returned to Cortland to teach high school history while driving a cab in Manhattan. He resumed work at The Rusty Nail, taking on roles in cooking and bartending.
1975
Jim and Kipp expanded to Manchester, New Hampshire, opening Millyard, while Matt stayed in Cortland.
1976
They opened 300 Derby Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Matt joined as the dining room manager, with Michael Schilling starting as a waiter before becoming bar manager.
1977
The brothers opened F. Parker Reidy’s in Portland, Maine, while Matt remained in Salem.
1978
The Timbers was born when Jim, Kipp, and Jim Keiser teamed up. Matt moved from Salem to become the general manager. With their restaurant experience, the three partners decided The Timbers menu would feature mostly steaks and shrimp, with red snapper being the only fish item. It didn’t take long to recognize the demand for fresh fish. As our fish offerings grew, so did Matt’s fame for his theatrical presentations of fish to our diners. When he dropped a twenty-five-pound grouper on the table of an inquiring patron, other guests were requesting whole fish at their tables so they could see ‘the show’ as well. Fish was suddenly fun, and as the legend of Matt’s antics grew. Soon he would be seen parading fish through the dining room nightly. The story of Matt filleting a one-hundred-pound swordfish in the back of the restaurant’s pickup truck is not just a myth!
1980
To accommodate the growing business, we opened Twigs Lounge next door, featuring a piano bar and a popular Valentine’s Day oyster promotion. This success led to the creation of Twigs Lounge & Raw Bar, which included a full-time raw bar.
1981
With increased demand for fish to cook at home, Matt transformed a former six-seat waiting room into a retail fish market, selling fresh fish, shellfish and top-quality steaks. This addition led to a name change to The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market
1982
The success of their restaurant concept prompted Jim, Kipp, and Matt to open The Prawnbroker Restaurant and Fish Market in Fort Myers, Florida. Michael Schilling joined as the managing partner. Additional Prawnbroker restaurants were opened in Stuart (1985), Marco Island (1987), and Bradenton (1989).
1988
In year ten of a fifteen-year lease, negotiations to extend the lease of the island’s most popular eatery began. With stalled negotiations, the partners began a search, looking for a location in a new building.
1990
A vacant lot at 703 Tarpon Bay Road was purchased. Construction began on a 12,000-square-foot building.
1991
The Timbers Restaurant & Fish Market opened in July at its new location, with the Sanibel Grill housed in the same building. The Grill was the island’s first sports bar and had a casual menu and atmosphere. Like Twigs, it was originally designed as a waiting area for The Timbers. The Sanibel Grill became less of a waiting area, and soon established itself as one of the island’s busiest restaurants.
Our affiliation with the renowned Prawnbroker Restaurant Group, a multi-concept seafood restaurant group that set sail in Florida’s culinary waters in 1978, solidifies our commitment to excellence in seafood cuisine and genuine hospitality. Visit our other Prawnbroker Restaurant Group establishments:
East Coast
West Coast
