Marco Island's Snook Inn, slammed by Ian, reopens after a year. What it took

Snook Inn reopened today on Marco Island after a year closed because of Hurricane Ian flooding and the time and challenges to rebuild.

Yes, it will still have its famous salad bar — with everything including the pickle barrel, the pea salad, the fresh bread, and the creamy garlic dressing.

Yes, the famous grouper sandwich remains on the menu.Yes, Snook will still have two happy hours— at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Yes, there will still be live music — everyday at lunch and dinner.

Now that those pressing questions have been answered, let's get into the details.

Snook Inn closed Sept. 12, 2022, to replace its chickee after getting permitting approved from the City of Marco Island. Hurricane Ian hit on Sept. 28 and flooded the entire restaurant with 5 1/2 feet of water, said Luigi Carvelli, president of Carvelli Restaurant Group, which bought the landmark restaurant in December 2017.

"I didn't think Snook Inn would ever have been closed for a whole year," Carvelli said. "We've been working extremely hard to get this up and running. We had a lot of setbacks. Sometimes we look around and say, 'what could go wrong, did go wrong.'"

Carvelli said every inch of the building was affected. Impact windows, a raised floor and reinforced structural walls and columns are some of the updates and a lot of why it took a year to rebuild. He declined to disclose how much money was spent.

"We had extensive damage inside and out," Carvelli said. "We went through every square inch of this building carefully, methodically to make sure we're doing the right thing to preserve the building for future catastrophes."

While rebuilding, Carvelli said he wanted to improve Snook Inn as well. "We tried to modernize the restaurant while still keeping the Snook feel," he said. "It a very fun restaurant. It's the water, the boats, the music. ... It's a different vibe here. I feel like I'm in the Caribbean. The Snook, it is part of the fabric of Marco Island.

Snook history

Built on the grounds that once held the Doxsee Clam Factory, Snook Inn was created by brothers Richard and Joseph Ballo in 1985. They renovated an existing building that had been used a bait and tackle shop on Marco River, transforming it into a restaurant and bar, with indoor and outdoor seating. The Passini and Banks family owned it for 32 years until selling it to Carvelli in December 2017, after another storm ‒ Hurricane Irma ‒ maid landfall on Marco Island Sept. 10.

Carvelli moved to Marco Island from Italy in 1998. He opened DaVinci's on the south end of the island. He later opened Marco Prime and Oyster Society. This year, his company bought Sweet Annie's Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe on Bald Eagle Drive with two partners.

Carvelli purchased Snook Inn in December 2017, after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Marco Island on Sept. 10.

Pickle barrel, salad bar, giant chickee, new stage

Inside and out, Snook Inn looks shiny and new but familiar.

Floor to ceiling windows in the dining room replaced windows half the size. Workers knocked down walls so that the entire indoor area is open with a view of Marco River, the boats going by or docking at Snook, dolphins and manatees and everything on the water.

The salad bar sits where it always has with everything on it that visitors have become accustomed to, Carvelli said.

"We can't touch the salad bar and we can't' touch the pickle barrel," he said. Carvelli had to search for a new pickle barrel because the old one was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

The bathrooms are in the same location inside near the salad bar but remodeled.

The menu has been updated to include some items from the three other Carvelli restaurants on Marco Island ‒ DaVinci's, Marco Prime and The Oyster Society.

Chef Ardony Rivas has a staff of 50 in the kitchen, Carvelli said. Another 68 employees run the rest of Snook, Carvelli said, adding that 95% of the pre-Ian staff returned. With 118 employees in place, Carvelli said he isn't hiring.

Outside, the bar is a little bigger, Carvelli said. It feels a lot bigger because of the new 30-foot-tall chickee and because the stage has been moved and replaced with tables and patrons can now walk between the indoor restaurant and the bar. It had been closed off after the last renovation. The new bar counter has real shells in the material. Patrons will remember the old Snook bar with photos of visitors sealed into the wood that Carvelli had turned into standing tables. Unfortunately, he said, they were ruined by the waters of Hurricane Ian.

The chickee is 7,000 square feet, almost three times the size of the 2,300-foot original. It was almost slightly larger: After building the thatched-roof structure, Carvelli had to remove it and build it again because it had encroached on neighboring property by 3 feet.

A smaller chickee bar that was used for the daily happy hours has been removed. The stage, now double in size, sits in the corner of the covered outdoor seating with hand-made Native American art flanking it.

Seats remain the same as in the past at 280, Carvelli said.

The upstairs viewing deck isn't open yet but will be, he said. Carvelli took out the stairs that used to protrude onto the downstairs deck. The entryway now is on the other side of the docks. Carvelli said he is waiting for permit inspections and closure.

"It's surreal really," said General Manager Megan Criser, who's been with Snook for 13 years. "You remember what it looked like with Hurricane Ian and how far we've come and how excited the staff are."

Greg Pascal of Paradise Design/Build on Marco Island was the general contractor. Casagrande Electric and Tonal Technology, also on Marco Island, replaced the electric and the sound and light systems.

Local artist J.J. Stinchcomb created a "Greetings from Snook Inn" art piece that celebrates images of Snook and Marco Island. It hangs above the new bar.

Invitation-only party held Saturday for soft opening

Carvelli held an invitation-only party for friends and family Saturday night. About 200 people came out for the soft opening to listen to live music, try the drinks and food and shop at the store for Snook apparel and paraphernalia.

Local politicians including City Council members Erik Brechnitz, Jared Grifoni and Darrin Palumbo and Collier County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Rick LoCastro joined locals and visitors who came from East Coast Florida and other parts of the country to celebrate the Snook's opening.

Carvelli beamed as he thanked the people he invited on Saturday, and as he walked around hugging and talking with everyone.

'Stronger than the storm'

"The past 367 days, whatever they are, it felt like it was a nightmare," he said. "We have been stronger than the storm."

Carvelli said quitting or selling Snook was never an option.

"Failure was not an option. We needed to get to the finish line, and we did, big time," he said. The mantra for a year was "we're going to bring this back, Baby, one way or another."

Developers called anyway, trying to buy Snook, Carvelli said. "I told them 'Over my dead body. This place is not for sale.' … I run restaurants; it's what makes me happy."

Carvelli said he went through the trouble and the money to rebuild for the community, for his family and for Snook employees.

"Snook Inn is bigger than us. It's not just a restaurant," he said. "It's the place to be. And if you haven't been to the Snook Inn, you haven't been to Marco Island."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Marco Island's Snook Inn reopens after year-long rebuilding effort