Ticket Editor: Sarasota County waterfront restaurant closed by Hurricane Ian now open
One of the best waterfront restaurants in south Sarasota County is back open for business after being closed by Hurricane Ian.
Yes, I'm happy to report that Pop's Sunset Grill in Nokomis has returned to its normal hours of operation — 14 hours a day, seven days a week — after being forced to shut down for nearly three weeks due to storm damage.
Originally, Pop's hoped to open Oct. 8 following Hurricane Ian slamming into it, and the rest of Southwest Florida, on Sept. 30. The locally owned restaurant was finally able to welcome their loyal customers back Saturday, Oct. 15, for lunch and dinner. Now, Pop's has returned to serving breakfast, as well.
"There has been an incredible outpouring of customer support, and that has been very heartwarming," said Joe Farrell, the renowned entrepreneur and Casey Key resident who owns Pop's Sunset Grill along with his wife, Kristen.
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Pop's Sunset Grill in Nokomis offers great escape on the water
Why is Pop's reopening such a big deal? Because in addition to serving expertly prepared fresh local fish like grouper and mahi-mahi, as well as delicious wood-grilled ribs and veggie skewers so good I could almost contemplate turning vegan, it's one of the great places in Sarasota County to simply experience.
Located by the Albee Road Bridge connecting Casey Key to Nokomis in south Sarasota County, what the waterfront restaurant essentially does, and exceptionally well, is offer an instant escape. You're welcomed from the parking lot through a tunnel adorned with palm leaf thatching and under a sign that reads, "Through these portals pass the world's friendliest mortals."
Walk just a few steps and you're transported into a tropical courtyard. There are pathways leading to various bars and dining areas as well as the Intracoastal Waterway and the dock for boaters to find near Marker 10. Trust me, even before your first bite or potent beverage, regardless if you got there by way of a luxury boat or beat-up Chevy, your spirits will be lifted when you arrive at Pop's.
A year after spending a delightful afternoon at Pop's Sunset Grill — on Sept. 25, 2021 for the glowing review quoted above — the landmark Nokomis dining destination with history dating back to the 1940s landed on our list of waterfront restaurants in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties damaged by Hurricane Ian. I feared the worst, that Pop's would lose its Old Florida charm, which largely comes from the trees and other foliage that greet you upon entering.
Thatched tiki roof ripped off Pop's Sunset Grill in Nokomis during Ian
Pop's had to replace all of the thatching on the roof of their tiki bar and repair the roof of the south bar in the courtyard. Two large signs in the parking lot were toppled. A fence was knocked over, too, and tree limbs and other assorted debris littered the premises.
"It took 650 work hours in two and a half weeks to get reopen," Farrell said when I talked to him and general manager Stephanie Brown earlier this week. "All the trees survived, just got a bit of God’s pruning. We lost lot of greenery, but it will come back."
'Just really proud of what the people on our team have contributed, even outside of Pop's'
Pop's employs about 150 people, with an estimated 75 percent living in the Charlotte and south Sarasota County areas hit hard by Hurricane Ian. The restaurant has one of their managers living in temporary housing because they are still not able to return to their home due to the Myakka River flooding. Other employees also suffered bad damage to their homes and are now staying with family, friends or other Pop's team members. Meanwhile, other employees assisted their coworkers by doing things like watching children, bringing them hot meals or lending them their shower.
"When you’re in the middle of what's really a tragedy, one of the things I took from it is this is an opportunity for people to do great things," Brown said. "And seeing our really young employees jumping in and trying to rescue people in their big trucks and big boats — people they didn't really know — it was really special. I'm just really proud of what the people on our team have contributed, even outside of Pop's."
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Snook Haven remains closed after severe flood from Hurricane Ian
Unfortunately, not all of my favorite south Sarasota County waterfront restaurants are back open for business. Earlier this month, I wrote about Snook Haven in Venice on the Myakka River being closed due to severe flooding. While Snook Haven is operated by the Venice Pier Group that runs Sharky's on the Pier and neighboring Fins on Brohard Beach and Siesta Beach Eats on Siesta Beach; Snook Haven is technically part of the public park owned by Sarasota County.
On Monday, Oct. 17, the county shared the latest status report of Snook Haven from the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resource staff.
"Currently PRNR is still working through park and facility evaluations with a variety of different entities including county General Services, Risk, Building Official Representative and Parks," reads the email sent by Brianne Grant, the county's media relations officer. "We are working to identify proposed costs for remediation and repair of the current structure for further analysis.
"At this time no decision has been made yet on reopening of the park including timeline. We continue to work closely with our concessionaire partner as we know this is a much-loved destination for many and the importance of concession availability to the public is important. The design and construction manager selection process for the proposed park improvements is underway."
Hopefully, Snook Haven -— which also has history dating to the 1940s — will soon reopen while retaining its Old Florida charm, which is getting increasingly harder to find these days.
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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida-Georgia Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Pop's Sunset Grill in Nokomis reopens after closed by Hurricane ian
