Ron DeSantis kept his streak alive – and this time it was personal.
The governor just rolled into a 32-year-old Naples institution and declared their grouper sandwich a Florida gold standard.
Now everyone in Southwest Florida wants to know what he ate – and why he called it a "big big thing."
Grouper and Chips Naples Has Been the Gulf Coast Standard for 32 Years
Grouper & Chips on 9th Street North has been feeding Naples locals since 1994.
Owner Pam Pischner opened the restaurant with one mission: affordable, fresh seafood for the community.
No pretension. No white tablecloths. Just Gulf Coast fish done right.
DeSantis showed up as part of his "Diners, Drive-Ins & DeSantis" series – his own spin on the Food Network institution that's taken him to stone crab shacks in Steinhatchee, Irish pubs in Jacksonville, and sandwich shops in West Palm Beach.
This stop was different.
"The west coast of Florida has the best grouper," DeSantis said, holding a piece of freshly-dipped fish before taking a bite, "and so this is a big big thing for me."
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He called the fish & chips and the grouper sandwich "mainstays" you simply cannot go wrong with.
Why Locals Call This the Best Grouper Sandwich in Naples FL
Grouper & Chips didn't last three decades by accident.
The restaurant pulls its fish from Gulf waters where grouper – the prized Southwest Florida species – runs thick off Naples and Marco Island.
Pischner has kept the formula simple since day one.
"Everything is just delicious here, and homemade," she told DeSantis. "Come on down."
That homemade commitment extends to Pischner's own key lime pie recipe – a dessert DeSantis also sampled during the visit.
Locals and seasonal visitors have been calling it the best grouper sandwich in Florida for decades – and now the governor agrees.
Food Network's own Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives previously featured Grouper & Chips, recognizing the restaurant's commitment to fresh Gulf catch brought in daily.
Why This Series Says Something About DeSantis That His Speeches Never Could
By episode 8 of "Diners, Drive-Ins & DeSantis," a pattern is impossible to miss.
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He's not eating at hotel restaurants or campaign fundraiser banquet halls.
He's showing up to strip mall fish shacks, Irish pubs run by local families, and sandwich counters that have been serving the same neighborhood for 30 years.
Most politicians spend their careers eating rubber chicken at $10,000-a-plate fundraisers and calling it "connecting with voters."
DeSantis is sitting down at Grouper & Chips with Pam Pischner – a woman who saw a need and built something real from nothing – and he's eating her fish and asking her about it like he actually wants to know.
That's not a photo op.
That's a governor who understands that the people who built Florida aren't in Tallahassee.
They're on 9th Street North in Naples, serving grouper sandwiches for 32 years and not asking anybody for permission.
The three-minute episode is available now on DeSantis' official Instagram, Facebook, and X accounts.
Grouper & Chips is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 338 Ninth St. N. in Naples.
The restaurant is open Sundays January through April.
Sources:
- Kendall Little, "Best grouper? FL Gov. Ron DeSantis raves over this Naples restaurant," Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News, April 1, 2026.
- Food Network, "Grouper and Chips," foodnetwork.com.
- "DeSantis features Jacksonville Irish pub in his own dining series," Yahoo Lifestyle, March 2026.
