Couple rejuvenates the Matlacha Tiny Village while bringing Nautical Tiki Cruises to the island
Although they have been in business with their Nautical Tiki Cruises in Fort Myers for the last six months, Bri and Taylor Johnson purchased the Matlacha Tiny Village in March 2025 and began launching Tiki Cruises from the waterfront Yucatan Restaurant in Matlacha on June 13, just this year.
They both love the island, Taylor said.
“My parents live out in St. James City, so we’ve been coming to the area for more than 15 years and we’re always driving through Matlacha, visiting all the restaurants and shops and everything there,” Taylor said.
The couple saw the opportunity to buy and restore the Matlacha Tiny Village as an awesome prospect to take on, he said, with its huge dock on the canal out back. They saw this as a unique opening to add some fun excursions to Matlacha, he said.
“We got things kick-started back up in Fort Myers Beach and then it took just a couple of months to get a boat in Matlacha —- it’s something we’ve added to the back of the Tiny Village, and we pick up our guests at the Yucatan,” Taylor said.
Having always had an affection for Southwest Florida, the couple was able to move down just after college graduation, Bri said, sharing that they wed at Bokeelia’s Tarpon Lodge and moved to Southwest Florida in May 2024.
“The theme of our wedding was, ‘Seek the Adventure, Build the Memory, Capture the Moment,'” Bri said.
All of their wedding theme seemed to be encapsulated in the project they were now undertaking, she explained. When they saw the Tiny Village was available for purchase, that was quite a voyage, she said, although moving all the way from Pennsylvania was admittedly their biggest adventure.
“We just built this from the ground up. It was just, seeking the adventure, building these memories and creating this brand and opportunity for people to be able to come to Southwest Florida —- Matlacha specifically and create and capture those memories,” she said.
Enabling folks to come and experience the beauty of the island was a dream the Johnsons find themselves now living. The biggest thing, Taylor said, is just bringing more people to help the area rebound from the hurricanes from last few years.
“We’re excited to be a part of it. We love the island, we love the people and we love all the things Matlacha has to offer,” he said.
The Johnsons greatest desire is to bring the roots of seeking, building and capturing to the life of their businesses, not only in the Matlacha Tiny Village, but in the Nautical Tiki Cruises. Part of the rebuilding, she said, would be tying all of these things together.
“For individuals coming to visit and folks that are just taking leaps of faith you just follow your heart, follow your gut and you make it work. We’re so excited to see and bring all of this to life,” she said.
Thriving for the couple has become a series of the ability to bring new experiences to people on the island, she said. They make it a point to let their guests know how many different things on Pine Island are awaiting exploration.
Right now, you can take advantage of day cruises, 90-minute cruises as well as sunset cruises, departing from the Yucatan Restaurant, For more information call (866) 775-8454 or visit Nauticaltiki.com.