Can fans save this Florida restaurant? ‘I can’t believe how many people did that for us’

For the past 20 years, Minnie’s Beach Cafe has provided a family-friendly atmosphere during breakfast and lunch hours on Anna Maria Island on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

“It’s kind of like ‘Cheers,’ ” co-owner Kathy Smart said, the TV show where everyone knows your name.

But the Holmes Beach restaurant at 5360 Gulf Dr. is in danger of closing.

Construction, COVID-19 loan repayments, hurricane loss and an owner’s health led co-owner Kathy Smart to post a GoFundMe seeking to save the restaurant that started in 2004.

Smart said she didn’t want the GoFundMe at first. But in three days, Minnie’s campaign hit the target goal of $20,000 to “catch us up on everything.”

“Every time somebody donates something, I start crying,” Smart said. “I can’t believe how many people did that for us. It’s just, everybody’s so generous. And we’re like a family here. We’ve always been. Our customers, we know their kids ... we know their kids’ kids.”

Fans raise $20,000 to save Minnie’s

Co-owners Smart and Mary Doub have not taken a paycheck in two years. Smart said they received a letter that a construction project was set to last three months.

That was nearly three years ago and it has not been completed yet.

“So they were blocking off the parking lot quite often ... and that just about killed us,” Smart said.

The year construction started was also the year they had to pay back COVID-19 loans that compounded the issue to stay afloat, said Smart.

And during a hurricane, Smart said they had a generator keeping their freezer operating and fully stocked to weather the storm. But someone turned off the generator, which caused a huge loss.

“We lost everything,” Smart said. “We lost everything that was in the coolers. It was a mess.”

“One thing after another and we find ourselves in dire straits now,” Smart said.

One of those things was Smart’s health. She suffered blood clots and said Monday was the first time she’s walked without a cane. And during that battle, she was diagnosed with Stage 1 lung cancer. Radiation treatments followed.

It left Smart out of work.

And Smart and Doub have “depleted our savings,” according to the GoFundMe, to deal with each issue.

How Minnie’s got its start

Minnie’s restaurant has been on Anna Maria Island since the early 1970s, but it became Minnie’s Beach Cafe in 2004 when Smart, Doub and others bought it. One of the other owners had a grandmother named Minnie and that became the restaurant’s name.

Minnie’s offers a variety of breakfast and lunch items as well as different specials. Omelets are Minnie’s signature, but Smart said they’ll make whatever the customer wants with the ingredients they have.

“I always tell people our menu is a suggestion,” Smart said. “If you see the ingredients on there, we’ll make it for you.”