What is Seed to Table in Florida? Store, restaurant, bar, MAGA clubhouse

“Welcome to the happiest place in the universe.” That’s the can’t-miss message for Seed to Table, a grocery store-restaurant-bar-entertainment venue in Naples, Florida.
When shoppers visit, it’s hard not to miss the beautifully arranged fresh produce or the multitude of signs for tacos, sushi or “made from scratch” specials available at the gourmet produce store.
But in addition to its upscale grocery and community feel − recently, the owner hosted a Hurricane Milton pre-landfall party with food and drinks − Seed to Table has a reputation as a pro-Trump, Make America Great Again hub. Big American flags are on display across the market.
Protests about COVID-19 masks, George Floyd and Black Lives Matter have been held at Seed to Table. The store gained national attention during the Jan. 6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
And the muscle behind Seed to Table and Oakes Farms, owner Alfie Oakes of Naples, is as much a polarizing figure in Southwest Florida as his namesake business.
Here’s what we know about Seed to Table, Oakes Farms and Alfie Oakes.
According to its site, “Seed to Table is a grocery store like you’ve never seen, featuring several restaurants, bars, live entertainment seven nights a week, and more. Located in Naples, Florida.” The message online? “Welcome to the happiest place in the universe.”
The 75,000-square-foot farmer’s market-inspired store in North Naples features fresh produce from Oakes Farms.
Seed to Table, 4835 Immokalee Road, Naples, also is home to Hops and Vines, the wine bar and the beer bar that runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Dinner specials from the kitchen range, with a recent offering like Braveheart filet mignon, grilled veal chop or Lumina lamb rack, served with homemade mac and cheese and roasted seasonal vegetables.
Seed to Table is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Hops and Vines, the upstairs bar, is open until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Mike Ellis, executive chef for Seed to Table and a consultant to The 239 at Mercato, previously worked at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C., as celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio’s sous chef in 2004. A year later, Ellis moved to Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen as executive sous chef for celebrity chef Michael Voltaggio before taking over the kitchen’s reign when it earned a Michelin star. Bryan Voltaggio and Michael Voltaggio have a long history with “Top Chef” − the brothers competed during their season, with Michael Voltaggio winning the season finale. Bryan Voltaggio competed two more times in the “Top Chef” universe, both times becoming a finalist. The Voltaggio brothers also have appeared on various Food Network cooking competition shows or have played themselves on shows like “Young and Hungry” on Freeform.
Oakes opened Seed to Table in 2019. Call 239-310-7333 or visit seedtotablemarket.com.
Alfie Oakes is a Florida farmer and owner of the upscale grocery store/entertainment venue Seed to Table. Oakes Farms, among the biggest agribusinesses in South Florida, employs about 3,500 people. His empire includes fields, stores, packing houses and even a boutique. The flagship is Seed to Table, a $30 million destination grocery experience that goes well beyond produce and includes a bakery, a butcher shop and performance space.
Oakes also is known as a MAGA Trump supporter whose venue has been used for Trump events.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, residents of Lee County and Collier County, Florida, were familiar with Oakes. At the time, he made headlines as an anti-vaxxer, for comments he made about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter and for filing an anti-mask lawsuit in his hometown. Oakes also arranged bus trips to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, for the Insurrection − or what he called “the most peaceful beautiful demonstration from well over one million people that I’ve ever witnessed,” according to the Naples Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newspaper.
David Silverberg, a political pundit in Naples, Florida, and former managing editor of The Hill, described Alfie Oakes as “our mini-Trump,” labeling him “the MAGA Grocery King of Southwest Florida” in a 2022 Mother Jones story.
Though Alfie Oakes hasn’t run for a government position, he holds elected office as Collier County’s Republican State Committeeman.
Since Seed to Table opened in 2019, the upscale grocery store and entertainment venue has been in the spotlight. Just as COVID-19 was surging, owner Alfie Oakes became a lightning rod for headlines after telling Naples Daily News columnist Phil Fernandez that the Coronavirus disease was bogus, taking Collier County, Florida, to court for its mask mandate.
Throughout the pandemic, Oakes refused COVID-era mask mandates, scorned the Black Lives Matter movement, helped boost pro-Trump local candidates into posts ranging from school board to fire commissioner. Oakes also funded two buses of Trump supporters bound for Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Here’s a roundup of notable events or protests at or near Seed to Table in Naples, Florida:
Contributing: Diana Biederman, Naples Daily News