Drive past 6300 N. Wickham Road on a Friday night now and you'll see a packed parking lot, string of trucks waiting for the valet, and a big center island bar visible through the windows. For three years, that same building sat dark. The sign said Charlie & Jake's Barbecue and Brewery until 2022, and then it said nothing at all.
What opened in its place isn't a new concept chasing Suntree's growth. It's Bunky's Raw Bar & Brewery, run by two men who already knew this stretch of road before they signed a lease. The same is true a quarter mile south, where a 35-year diner became a brunch counter that kept the parking lot layout, the linear dining room, and something closer to the original spirit than a stranger would have bothered to preserve. If you've noticed Suntree's dining corridor feels different this year without feeling foreign, that's why. The people filling these spaces grew up on them.
The Corner That Went Dark in 2022
Charlie & Jake's Barbecue and Brewery wasn't just another Suntree restaurant. It was one of the first places in Brevard County to brew its own beer on-site, with a small brewing operation visible behind glass. When it closed in 2022, the building sat empty at a corner that had anchored the neighborhood's casual dining for years. That kind of vacancy on a road this well-traveled tends to get filled fast by whatever chain has capital ready. It took three years instead, because the buyers who eventually came weren't shopping for a location. They already knew this one.
Colin Jones and Douglas Walker own Bunky's Raw Bar & Grill in Indialantic and Charlie & Jake's Barbecue in Indian Harbour Beach. Jones grew up in Suntree before eventually settling in Satellite Beach, and by his own account, he and Walker had wondered for years whether they'd ever end up back on this specific corner.
The Same Walls, A Different Kitchen
The renovation wasn't cosmetic. Crews gutted the interior, moved the bar into a large center island, and replaced the flooring and systems, while keeping much of the original kitchen layout intact. The dining room now seats more than 200 people with an outdoor patio, done up with a nautical theme and big screens for sports.
The menu leans on what's made Bunky's a fixture at the beach for over four decades: fresh oysters, clams, burgers, and wings that aren't frozen first. About three-quarters of the menu mirrors the Indialantic location, with new additions built specifically for this market, including steak dishes and more upscale entrees that a beachside raw bar wouldn't typically carry.
The detail that matters most for anyone who remembers the old building: the brewing equipment that made Charlie & Jake's notable is being refurbished and kept on display behind glass, with local brewer Will Brant running the operation. The corner isn't just serving beer again. It's brewing it again, in the same room where Brevard County restaurant brewing effectively started.
As Jones put it when the plans were announced:
"We've always been fascinated with Suntree."
Here's what actually changed at each address, and what didn't.
| Address | What Closed | What Opened | What Carried Over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6300 N. Wickham Rd | Charlie & Jake's Barbecue and Brewery (closed 2022) | Bunky's Raw Bar & Brewery | Building shell, kitchen footprint, refurbished brewing equipment |
| 6947 N. Wickham Rd, Suntree Plaza | Niki's Family Restaurant (35 years, closed May 31, 2025) | Mimosa's | Storefront, linear dining layout, breakfast-counter role |
Thirty-Five Years Doesn't Reopen as a Chain
Niki's Family Restaurant served Suntree Plaza for 35 years before closing on May 31, 2025. A run that long means generations of regulars had a standing order there, and replacing it with anything risks becoming the place people compare unfavorably to what used to be.
Mimosa's opened in that same storefront with a breakfast, lunch, and brunch menu, and the early word from diners suggests it understood the assignment. Reviews describe a snug, linear dining room with an assortment of table types, from high tops to booths, and a level of branding polish down to the coffee mugs and floor rugs. One diner noted the fresh-squeezed orange juice and unfrozen hash, small signals in a category where shortcuts are common and noticeable. There's a military discount, a two-sided laminated menu split between breakfast and lunch, and prices that stay in neighborhood-diner range rather than reaching for a brunch premium.
What Mimosa's didn't try to do is become something Suntree didn't ask for. It filled the exact role Niki's held for 35 years: a weekend breakfast spot within walking distance of the plaza, busy enough on Sunday mornings that parking gets tight and a short wait at the counter is normal.
The Corridor Is Rebuilding Itself From the Inside
This pattern isn't limited to the two biggest closures. A few minutes north in Addison Center at Viera, Sushi Kawa opened on June 9, 2025, serving Thai and Japanese food from a 1,200-square-foot space with seating for about 40. The owners, Jirawat and Sujinda Chaijirawat, are natives of Thailand who lived in Viera before moving to Palm Beach and later returning to open the restaurant here. Same story, different cuisine: the people opening these places already had a stake in the corridor before they had a lease.
That matters if you're trying to understand why Suntree's dining scene feels more coherent this year than it has in a while, rather than like a random wave of turnover. Urban Prime in Addison Village has already built a following for its steak, pasta, and sushi menu alongside a small marketplace of local goods, and it sits within the same loop as the newer openings. Layer in the golf corridor just off Wickham and Stadium Parkway, where Duran Golf Club and Baytree National both run on-site restaurants open to the public regardless of whether you're a member or ever pick up a club, and the corridor starts to look less like scattered openings and more like a full weekend circuit that didn't exist in this form a year ago.
A Saturday That Actually Works Now
If you're trying to use this corridor rather than just drive past it, here's how the pieces fit together on an actual weekend:
- Saturday or Sunday morning: brunch at Mimosa's in Suntree Plaza, early if you want to skip the wait
- Midday: a round or a walk-in lunch at Duran Golf Club or Baytree National, open to non-members
- Evening: oysters and a house-brewed beer at Bunky's, or steak at Urban Prime if you're not in a raw bar mood
- If you're craving something outside the usual rotation: Sushi Kawa in Addison Center, a short drive north
None of this required Suntree to become a different neighborhood. It required a handful of people who already knew the corner to decide it was worth rebuilding rather than letting sit empty, or handing to whoever wanted the address next.
That's a small thing to notice about a stretch of road you drive past most days. But it's the kind of detail that tells you more about a place than a list of what's new ever could. Suntree didn't get colonized by fresh concepts chasing rooftops. It got its own people back.
If you're weighing a move into this part of Brevard County and want a read on how a corridor like this actually holds up day to day, not just on paper, Tracy Ryland can walk you through it. Let's Connect.
