Skyline Chili permanently closes in Naples, Fort Myers

After operating for four decades, the Skyline Chili franchise in Southwest Florida has permanently closed its restaurants on U.S. 41 in Fort Myers and Naples.    

The Fort Myers location at 5100-323 S. Cleveland Ave. shuttered April 18, followed April 21 by the closing of the Naples location at 710 Ninth St. N.  Both operated by Naples resident Gates Rodenfels under S W Florida Chili Inc., they were the only two regional locations of the Cincinnati-based fast-casual chain known for its signature chili sauce on coney dogs and spaghetti.     

"After 38 years of selling Skyline Chili, we are now officially CLOSED. Thank you SW Florida for all the years of some really great memories,” Rodenfels posted April 21 on his Facebook page.

A handwritten sign on the door of the Naples Skyline Chili thanks customers for 38 years as the restaurant announces its permanent closure. The longtime local franchise shut down its final Southwest Florida locations in April.

The Rodenfels family has been involved with the local Skyline Chili franchise since 1988, when the restaurant was still at Coastland Center mall in Naples. Skyline moved in 1994 to a new location at the end of a retail strip in the Lake Park neighborhood.  

That retail center on the northeast corner of U.S. 41 and Seventh Avenue North in Naples is destined for redevelopment as a luxury automobile dealership, but that did not directly lead to the recent closing of Skyline Chili. When the center changed hands five years ago, Rodenfels had vowed to find another Naples location to relocate his Skyline Chili franchise. That did not happen. Efforts to reach Rodenfels for comment were unsuccessful.

A Skyline Chili “3-way” features spaghetti topped with chili sauce and a mound of shredded cheddar cheese. The Cincinnati-style dish was a staple at the chain’s Southwest Florida locations.

The local franchises of Skyline Chili provided a nostalgic taste of home for Ohio and Kentucky transplants and visitors raised on the regional specialty. The area restaurants have been the site of first jobs for many locals, while providing a craveable fix and a regular meeting place for others during the last 40 years.  

Skyline Chili still has four locations in Florida operated by other franchisees. The nearest locations to Southwest Florida are in Lakewood Ranch on the west coast and in Sunrise on the east coast. Other Florida locations are in Clearwater and Winter Garden.   

Founded in 1949 by a Greek immigrant, the chain has more than 130 locations across 10 states from the Midwest to the Southeast. Its most popular menu items — cheese coneys and “Ways” — are topped with Skyline’s Cincinnati-style chili sauce and a mound of shredded cheddar cheese and served with oyster crackers and hot sauce. A “5-way” is spaghetti topped with chili sauce, beans, diced onions and cheese.