Two restaurant timelines are unfolding in Wellington. A handful of independent restaurants opened this year, while the restaurant lineup announced for Lotis Wellington on State Road 7 in 2023 is opening in stages. One of the attractions planned for Lotis Wellington II, PopStroke, later withdrew from the project.
If you're planning where to eat this fall, here's a look at independent openings and the current status of the restaurants announced for Lotis.
What's Open and What's Planned
Rosie's Pizza & Restaurant is the one people are already talking about. At 13860 Wellington Trace, Suite 41, it's a family-run pizzeria with Sicilian roots tracing back to 1977, led by chef Vultaggio, who has already picked up a Best Pizza in Palm Beach County title. The menu runs New York-style pies by the slice or whole, Detroit and Sicilian squares, and a 72-hour dough fermentation the kitchen treats as a genuine selling point. It seats about fifty, it's named after the owner's daughter, and it built a following on social media before most of the village realized it had opened.
A few miles down Forest Hill Boulevard, Lewis Prime Grill took over the old Stonewood Grill & Tavern space at 10120 Forest Hill Blvd, opening the first week of May 2026. It's the Lewis family's more casual answer to Okeechobee Steakhouse, the chain that made their name, built for people who want a good steak without the $60 or $70 a la carte price tag of a full-dress steakhouse. Ralph Lewis, the third generation to run the family business, gutted the old Stonewood interior to strip out what he called the dark steakhouse feel, and he has nine more of these planned around Florida, with at least one more possible in Palm Beach County.
Other independent restaurant activity included:
- Tres Gallitos opened with a modern, upscale take on Mexican food.
- Cheese Lovers Kitchen built its menu around fondue and shareable, cheese-forward plates.
- Cluck Face Nashville Hot Chicken, a concept from husband-and-wife team David and Nancy Chapman, had targeted a June opening.
These independent restaurant businesses are separate from Lotis Wellington's planned dining lineup.
The Restaurant Lineup at Lotis Wellington
Compare that to The Square at Lotis Wellington, the retail and dining piece of the mixed-use project on the west side of State Road 7. When leasing agents Katz & Associates first announced the project's restaurant lineup, they described a fully leased plaza anchored by nine restaurants, including Turning Point's first Florida location, a New Jersey breakfast-and-lunch chain running since 1998, along with Naked Taco, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Foxtail Coffee, Raw Jūce, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant, and Lazy Dog.
That announcement is years old now, and the results are mixed. Kura Sushi held its grand opening on April 10, 2026, its first location anywhere in the West Palm Beach metro and its fifth in Florida. Cooper's Hawk also appears to be open, at least according to Lennar's current marketing for the townhomes built around Lotis Wellington, which lists it as a walkable happy-hour spot. As for Lazy Dog, Turning Point, Naked Taco, Frank Pepe's, Foxtail Coffee, and Raw Jūce, none had a confirmed opening date I could find as of this writing. A Town-Crier report from February 2025 quoted Lotis project director Rich Kasser saying Cooper's Hawk and Lazy Dog were still on track for late 2025 or early 2026.
| Restaurant announced for The Square | Status as of September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Kura Sushi | Open. Grand opening held April 10, 2026 |
| Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant | Appears open, listed as a current amenity in community marketing |
| Lazy Dog | No confirmed opening date found |
| Turning Point | No confirmed opening date found |
| Naked Taco | No confirmed opening date found |
| Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana | No confirmed opening date found |
| Foxtail Coffee | No confirmed opening date found |
| Raw Jūce | No confirmed opening date found |
That's the gap between fully leased and open for dinner. A signed lease is a real estate transaction. An open kitchen is a different kind of commitment, and it runs on its own schedule, one that has nothing to do with when the shopping center finished construction.
Changes to Lotis Wellington II
Lotis Wellington II, the second phase of the project about a half mile south at 1105 South State Road 7, had planned for a PopStroke mini-golf and restaurant concept co-owned by Tiger Woods. In March 2026, Lotis Group returned to Wellington's village council to change its plans after PopStroke withdrew.
In place of PopStroke, the developer is now building an 8,500-square-foot Seasons 52, the Darden-owned restaurant chain, on the site. According to reporting from The Real Deal, the contract that comes with that restaurant bars any other food or beverage business larger than 3,000 square feet, and any gym, from opening anywhere else in Lotis Wellington II. Wellington council members urged the developer to retain some form of entertainment use for the site; one member raised concerns about the site's future performance.
Village staff had already told the council, back in early 2025, that they couldn't require the development to land specific brand-name tenants even if they wanted to. The restaurant and gym restrictions described above come from a tenant lease condition, rather than a village requirement.
What This Means for Dinner Tonight
The restaurants described here include independent openings and plans, announced Lotis tenants whose opening dates remain unconfirmed, and two national names at Lotis—Kura Sushi, which has opened, and Cooper's Hawk, which appears to be open.
One more thing matters if you're weighing a move to this stretch of Wellington rather than just picking where to eat tonight. State Road 7's dining corridor is still being built out block by block, which means the corridor near a listing today is not the one that finishes in three or five years. That's neither a warning nor a selling point. It's just the pace at which this part of the village is actually developing, and it's worth knowing before assuming a property's proximity to "upcoming restaurants" means anything is open yet.
I keep half an eye on what's actually opening in Wellington versus what's still sitting on a site plan, because that gap tends to say more about a neighborhood's real momentum than any leasing press release does. For a broader look at what's happening across the village, the Wellington neighborhood guide has more. And if you're weighing what any of this means for a specific block or a specific decision, Marcus Singletary is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
