HavAnnA Book an Event

Chokoloskee Island · Where the Ten Thousand Islands meet the Everglades

Season 5is open

Cuban & Cracker cuisine under the chickee hut. Mojo pork, Gulf shrimp, stone crab, café con leche, and a hot sauce with a story behind it.

Open now · Fri & Sat 8 AM – 8 PM. Weekdays join in November. Open 7 days a week from Thu 12.03.

See the Season 5 menu What's happening
HavAnnA Cafe Season 5 logo: Tank Gurl Anna in a Cuban-flag bandana, cigar lit, red guitar on her back, riding her straw-hatted alligator
Since
2003
HavAnnA Anna, hands behind her head, a cigar in her lips and a striped bandana in her curls, against a teal clapboard wall
Anna is part Rosie the Riveter and part Oshun, the river goddess. Her boots are laced for the swamp.

Our story

Old Florida charm, Cuban soul.

Out past the causeway, at the edge of Everglades National Park, the island's Cuban kitchen has been feeding fishermen, paddlers and road-trippers for more than twenty years.

  1. 2003 · The beginning

    Carlos & Dulce Valdez open HavAnnA

    Carlos worked his kitchen magic, Dulce brought the crowd-pleasing hospitality, and HavAnnA became the go-to spot for Cuban food in Collier County.

  2. Post-pandemic · A new chapter

    David & Aaron carry the torch

    They kept the traditions and added All-American flavors, garden seating, chickee hut dining, cold beer and wine, live music and weekly happenings.

  3. 2026–27 · Season 5

    The biggest season yet

    A new menu, the Havanna Heat collector series, Havana Nights on the patio, and a flagship Halloween weekend: the Bay of Pigs.

1874The year the island's first families settled Chokoloskee
1956The causeway opens. Before that, mail and supplies came by boat.
150Guests seated under the palms for private events, 200 standing
4.6★From 1,689 Google reviews, and counting
Chokoloskee's fiery secret

Havanna Heat

The table-side hot sauce that fans started asking for by name. Every bottle is a collector's souvenir. Each series gets new label art from the HavAnnA universe, and each one is gone when the season ends.

Gator heat
Citrus mojo
Swamp smoke

Season 5 · Season of Healing, out on tables now.

$8 The thing people call about most. Now it ships.
The full Havanna Heat Season 5 wraparound label: nutrition panel, QR codes, Tank Gurl Anna and the Greetings from Chokoloskee story panel

The full Season 5 wrap. It's the same label that spins on the 3D bottle above, and it carries the #GoodVibeTribe story panel.

Cafecito o'clock

The island runs on Cuban coffee

Espresso whipped with sugar until it foams, poured short and strong. Pick your pour.

  • ColadaSweet, bold, and meant for sharing. Tiny cups, big crowd.
    5
  • CortaditoA short café con leche with a splash of steamed milk.
    6
  • Café con LecheSoftened with steamed milk. Try it iced. Vanilla, caramel or hazelnut +1.50.
    7
See the café menuOrder ahead ↗

Take a piece homeTrading Post

Tees, tanks, hats and hot sauce from the HavAnnA gift shop, and from our sister spot, Parkway Motel & Marina.

Trading PostAdd items to the bag and checkout emails your order to the cafe. We confirm it, then you pick up on the island or we ship it. Order gift shop items for pickup on HavAnnA's online ordering ↗

Entertainment

Havana Nights
under the chickee

When the sun drops behind the mangroves, the patio turns up. Live bands, DJ sets that run from disco to Chokoloskee Circuit Magic, and a Sunday T-Dance.

DJ Sets

70s and 80s remixes, 90s and 00s bangers, and island-made house music.

Live Bands

Local players on the patio stage during the season's big weekends.

Sunday T-Dance

Brunch into dancing: melodic local country meets ambient house.

Baby Gator Photo Booth

The island's most famous photo op. Yes, a real baby gator.

Play the patio

Live musician or DJ? Tell us about your act and we'll reach out about a gig.

WatchIsland Voices

Anna's Season 5 teasers, plus a new interview series with the people who make Chokoloskee what it is: guides, naturalists and fifth-generation families.

Now showing · Season 5

Something different is coming to Chokoloskee

The Boys of Chokoloskee present · Gays in the Glades · Halloween weekend 2026

Bay of Pigs:The Fallout

1956: the causeway opens and station wagons roll down to the Glades. It's the golden age of Florida travel, with the Cold War humming in the background. There's a Nike missile site out in the Everglades, radar watching from Marco Island, and the Lavender Scare up in Washington. This Halloween, we're asking one question: what if the fallout actually happened?

Fri · 10.30 · 5 PM

Drag Bingo

Hosted by Mya Valentine, with Sizzy Griddles. Bingo, beats, booze, babes. 18+.

Sat · 10.31 · 8 PM – midnight

Saturday Night Party

Presented by Parkway Motel & Marina. Best Dolly look-alike contest and sets by DJ Alex Ferbeyre.

Sun · 11.01 · 11 AM – 3 PM

Atomic Tiki Luau T-Dance

A retro dance party: tiki, tunes, day drinks and dancing with DJ Alex Ferbeyre.

Dress code: atomic-age glam, fallout couture, or 1950s tourist, meets zombie nuclear horror.

A fundraiser for the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation · 18+ · reservations (239) 695-2214

Stay the weekend for glamping, bike trails, fishing, boating, BBQ and state parks at Parkway Motel and Marina ↗.

--days to fallout
Download the flyer ↓Tap a flyer to see it full size.

Mark the calendarLive Events

Season 5 dates as they stand today. Ask for a reminder and we'll send the lineup as soon as it drops.

Fri–Sat · Oct10.16–17
Opening weekend

Season 5 is open

Friday and Saturday 8 AM – 8 PM all October; weekdays join in November. Come early for the first cafecitos of the season.

Order online ↗
Fri–Sun · Oct 30–Nov 110.31
Flagship weekend

Gays in the Glades: The Bay of Pigs

Bay of Pigs: The Fallout. Three Halloween nights of costumes, Cuban food and the biggest party on the island. A fundraiser for the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation · 18+ · reservations (239) 695-2214.

FRIDrag Bingo · 5 PM · hosted by Mya Valentine with Sizzy Griddles SATSaturday Night Party · Best Dolly look-alike contest · DJ Alex Ferbeyre 8 PM – midnight SUNAtomic Tiki Luau T-Dance · 11 AM – 3 PM
See the weekendDownload the flyer ↓
Thu · Dec12.03
Full season

Grand Season 5 Opening

Open 7 days a week from December 3. The full menu, full hours and the full HavAnnA experience through Independence Day weekend.

January2027
Save the date

Gays in the Glades

The Everglades' most fabulous weekend returns. Dates and flyer to follow.

Event venue & catering

Have your party in the garden

An open-air patio surrounded by nature, where the Ten Thousand Islands meet Everglades National Park. Book it for birthdays, rehearsal dinners, reunions and island weddings.

150seated
200standing
4–8PM, by arrangement
TIER 1

Choose 1 appetizer, plus slow mojo-marinated Cuban pork shoulder, white rice, Cuban vegan beans and sweet plantains.

TIER 2

Tier 1 + 1 more appetizer, plus blackened or mojo-seasoned shrimp or chicken.

TIER 3

Tier 2 + 1 more appetizer, plus palomilla steak or a mahi mahi fillet.

Recently catered

A National Park grand openingFriends of Big Cypress volunteer event with Clyde Butcher

School and group lunches, too. Gulliver Prep's 6th and 7th graders stop in every year on their Everglades immersion trip.

Appetizers include croquetas, empanadas, HavAnnA tostones, Gulf oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp. Beer and wine are available, and liquor comes with a full buy-out. Add-ons: bands, DJ, photographer and the Baby Gator Photo Booth. Catering to go uses the same menu.

Start an inquiry

Sending opens your email app with your details filled in. Hit send and we'll get back to you.

One island, three front doorsThe Chokoloskee Outpost

The online visitor center for the end of Highway 29: where to eat, where to stay, and what to do between the mangroves and the Gulf.

You are here

HavAnnA Cafe

Cuban and Cracker cuisine, Havanna Heat, Havana Nights and Gays in the Glades.

See the menu
Sister site · same family

Parkway Motel & Marina

Motel rooms and kitchenettes, the Smallwood cottage over the marina, and the Tale Slap, D. Hooker and Honey Hole homes. Full-service marina, 7 AM to 4 PM.

1180 Chokoloskee Dr · (239) 695-3261 · Check-in 2 PM

Check availability ↗
The hub · in the works

The Outpost

Things to do, vetted guides, bioluminescence nights, seasonal nature reports and the island's events calendar, all in one place.

Start exploring

Vetted by David & AaronWhile You're Here

We only recommend people we've fished, hiked, explored or kayaked with. No kickbacks: when our community does well, we all do.

Airboat

Everglades Airboat Tours

Old-growth coastal mangrove tunnels on the Barron River in Everglades City. It's the best airboat route south of Lake Okeechobee.

Closed Sundays
Swamp hikes

TnT Swamp Hikes

Tony and Teresa lead epiphyte adventures in Fakahatchee and Big Cypress. Try the Western Tram hike for Jurassic vibes.

Naturalist-led
Boat tours

Captain Craig Daniels Adventure Tours

Tour the Ten Thousand Islands with a 5th-generation local, and visit the island where a real pirate of the Caribbean is buried.

5th generation
Kayak & pole boat

Jack Shealy's Guide Services

Turner River kayaking, swamp hikes and pole boats to seldom-seen spots in Big Cypress, with no tour-bus crowds.

Big Cypress Preserve
History & tours

Smallwood Store & Tours with Bucky

The trading post that started it all, and the island's story told by the family who lived it.

Chokoloskee history
Kayak

Everglades Area Tours

Backwater and island kayaking through the Ten Thousand Islands, with guides who know every channel.

Backwater & islands
Charters

Outlaws of the Everglades

Fishing charters out of the island. Bring the catch back and we'll cook it.

Fishing charters
Fishing

Bubba Kent Daniels Fishing

From first-timer to pro angler, Captain Bubba puts you on the fish. Bring the fillets to us for You Catch, We Cook.

Pairs with our $18 cook-your-catch

Now hiring · Season 5

Join the Good Vibe Tribe

HavAnnA Cafe and Parkway Motel & Marina are hiring for Season 5 across the cafe, the motel and the marina & store. Good people, cold drinks, wild weekends.

Open positions

Where

HavAnnA CafeParkway MotelMarina & Store

The staff handbook

Prefer paper? Ask for an application at the counter. Questions: (239) 695-2214.

Apply for Season 5

Business
Days available
Shifts
Languages

Sending opens your email app with your answers filled in. Hit send and we'll be in touch. Prefer paper? Ask for an application at the counter.

Find us

Come see us
in person

Address
191 Smallwood DriveChokoloskee, Florida 34138
Call
(239) 695-2214Private events, catering and to-go orders
Season
Open now · Fri & Sat 8 AM – 8 PM through OctoberWeekdays added in November · 7 days a week from Thu 12.03. Full season from 12.03 through Independence Day weekend.
Hours
8 AM – 8 PM in seasonCheck our socials before the drive. We post every schedule change there first.
Get directions ↗ Book an event
EVERGLADES CITY CAUSEWAY · 1956 Chokoloskee TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS · GULF
HavAnnA Cafe