HM Restaurant Group Raises Funds for Captains For Clean Water

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

HM Restaurant Group, which manages Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, Dixie Fish Company and Bonita Fish Company, donated $7,725 to Captains For Clean Water in honor of Storm Smart, supporting the nonprofit organization’s mission of raising awareness and driving change to improve Florida’s water quality.

The money was raised $1 at a time from the sale of Send it South cocktails at Doc Ford’s and Dixie Fish Company in 2025. The specialty drink program has raised a cumulative $11,072 since its introduction in April 2024.

“We are proud to support Captains For Clean Water and to make this donation in recognition of Storm Smart,” said Joe Harrity, a partner with HM Restaurant Group. “Through their support of Captains For Clean Water, we are honored to designate these proceeds in their name. We’re also grateful to our guests who ordered the drink knowing their purchase would help protect Florida’s waterways.”

Sold at Doc Ford’s four restaurants in Southwest Florida and St. Petersburg and Dixie Fish Company on Fort Myers Beach, Send it South is a refreshing mix of mango and silver rums, blue Curaçao, pineapple and soda water.

A grassroots nonprofit, Captains For Clean Water was founded in 2016 by fishing guides concerned about the impact of Florida’s water management practices wreaking havoc on estuaries’ unique plant and animal communities. The organization opposes the current-day procedure of discharging fresh water from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers – a practice linked to blue-green algae and red tide plaguing South Florida’s waterways, threating human health and crippling its economy. Send It South references the group’s campaign that advocates a return to the natural southerly flow of critical freshwater through the Everglades and into Florida Bay, a process now impeded by dams, dikes and ditches built over a century ago. For more information, visit captainsforcleanwater.org.

As a locally owned company, HM Restaurant Group sponsors a number of projects benefiting local communities. Its successful Hospital Drinks program donates $1 from select specialty cocktails at Doc Ford’s to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida and John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. The program has raised over $140,309 since its inception.

HM Restaurant Group has a long history of philanthropy and community outreach, assisting charitable groups committed to conservation, community, education and the environment. Since 2012, the annual “Ding” Darling Doc Ford’s Tarpon Tournament has raised over $1.57 million for conservation and water-quality research at Sanibel’s J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The 14th annual tournament is May 15, 2026.

The company also supports F.I.S.H. of SANCAP, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Sanibel CARES Philanthropy and other organizations. Restaurant employees donate their time to clean up local beaches and volunteer at a variety of Southwest Florida nonprofits.

Renowned for delivering a legendary guest experience, Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille and Dixie Fish Company are open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Award-winning Doc Ford’s offers food with a unique balance of flavors inspired by the Caribbean Rim. Beloved for its sauces, spices and signature Yucatan shrimp served daily, it’s highly regarded by locals and visitors as a spectacular seafood restaurant. With locations on Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, Jungle Terrace in St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Pier, Doc Ford’s is a perennial Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice winner. The pier restaurant was named the nation’s No. 1 restaurant for Best of the Best Restaurants for Everyday Eats in 2023.

Named a 2023 Yelp Top 100 Florida Restaurant and ranked Tripadvisor’s No. 1 restaurant in the Fort Myers area, Dixie Fish Company is revered for delicious fresh food in an ideal location complemented by a beach atmosphere, complete with live music and picturesque views overlooking scenic Matanzas Pass. An original Florida fishhouse, the restaurant’s origins date back to 1937 when it was a fish market.

HM Restaurant Group also recently opened Bonita Fish Company on Fort Myers Beach. Blending the area’s rich coastal heritage with a contemporary dining experience, the restaurant features local seafood, creative dishes and the warm hospitality the group is known for.