What to know about Seed to Table, a MAGA Trump-supporting gourmet produce store in Florida

“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.

What is Seed to Table? Where is Seed to Table in Florida?

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.

When is Seed to Table open? What are Seed to Table hours of operation in Naples, Florida?

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.

Who is Alfie Oakes? Naples, Florida, farmer and Seed to Table store owner has been called ‘MAGA Grocery King of Southwest Florida’

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.

Protests, MAGA Trump events at Seed to Table in Florida: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter hoax comments, COVID-19 masks

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:

• Picketers showed up to protest Alfie Oakes’ 2020 Facebook creed against the Black Lives Matter movement, which he called a hoax, and George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, who he called a “disgraceful career criminal.”

• Lee County, Florida, schools cut ties with Oakes, and he took them to court, saying their termination of his three-year, $6 million deal was breach of contract, plus an infringement of his First Amendment right to free speech.

• Alfie Oakes has spoken against 5G cell towers and municipal fluoridation, which he considers a globalist strategy to subdue the population, according to a Naples Daily News report. “If you don’t think this is intentional to dumb us down, to keep control of the people in this country, then I don’t think you’re paying attention … We don’t trust the white coats anymore,” he said.

• In 2021, he footed the bill for two busloads of Trump supporters bound for Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 to attend to what Oakes later called “the most peaceful beautiful demonstration from well over one million people that I’ve ever witnessed.”

• In 2021, part time resident, rocker, gun-lover and COVID skeptic Ted Nugent appeared at Seed to Table before testing positive for COVID a week later. Naples Congressman Byron Donalds is a frequent Seed to Table guest.

• The following year, in 2022, all seven of “Alfie’s Freedom Picks” handily won their seats in Collier County, Florida, elections.

• In 2024, entrepreneur and former GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy showed up for lunch at Seed to Table.

Contributing: Diana Biederman, Naples Daily News

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Alfie Oakes, Seed to Table ties to Jan. 6, Black Lives Matter, MAGA