Prime & Pearl

Dinner plans tonight? How about surf and turf… or Prime & Pearl? Celebration Pointe Promenade’s newest restaurant is now open. eda is proud to have provided engineering and permitting for this innovative dining experience. Sounds like a great addition to the growing, thriving Celebration Pointe! Reported on by the Gainesville Sun.

Gainesville, Florida –

Restaurant news: Prime & Pearl serves steak, seafood in Celebration Pointe

Fresh steaks, seafood and a selection of more than 200 wines is now available at Prime & Pearl in Celebration Pointe. The restaurant opened Wednesday in the shopping center, just east of Hotel Indigo.

Executive Chef and Operating Partner Ed Lyons said his cooking philosophy is that good food will bring great experiences. “We really wanted to focus on phenomenal quality products,” he said. “I’ve just always enjoyed food and making people happy.”

Lyons’ cooking career started in the United States Navy, where he and others cooked 18,000 meals a day aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal. Once back on land, Lyons joined the White House cooking staff, serving up provisions during the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. Lyons also had a few jobs in restaurant management.

In 2015, he started Backstreet Blues Catering in Gainesville, which later developed into Backstreet Blues Chop House and Oyster Bar.

With Prime & Pearl, Lyons is channeling his love for seafood. The seafood menu is filled with options like Chilean sea bass, crab cakes, Gulf shrimp and raw and cooked oysters from around the U.S. In addition to Florida oysters, summertime menu picks come from cooler Northern waters in places from Virginia to Prince Edward Island in Canada and Washington on the Pacific Coast. “All that water’s cool up there, so people can enjoy the fresh, briny oysters in the summertime,” Lyons said.

Also on the menu, of course, are prime steaks. Everything from a small fillet to a 40-ounce bone-in tomahawk ribeye for two is available. Prime & Pearl sources its beef from small cattle farmers in Nebraska. Entrée prices range from about $27 to $100 for the tomahawk ribeye for two. Most entrees are available for less than $50.

Prime & Pearl also has a wine locker program that individuals, families and companies can take advantage of. For $750, a locker can be rented for a year that holds bottles of wine purchased from the restaurant at a discount. Locker owners receive 20% off bottles purchased and other perks, like invitations to special events and getting bumped to the front of the line if there’s a wait at the restaurant.

In addition to offering more than 200 wines from around the world, Prime & Pearl also has a selection of nearly 60 bourbons and cocktails sweetened with house-made syrups.

On-site catering is also available and a private dining room can seat up to 20 guests.

Prime & Pearl is now open Wednesday-Thursday from 4-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday from 4-11 p.m. and Sunday from 3-9 p.m.