Rod and Reel to return to Anna Maria Island in temporary location

A beloved Anna Maria Island restaurant whose owner pledged to rebuild after Hurricane Milton is planning to reopen a temporary location in a new space. 

Rod and Reel, destroyed as a result of the October hurricane when its pier blew away, will return to Anna Maria Island, this time in a strip mall.

“This thing behind us is going to be the new Rod and Reel location,” owner Oli Lemke says, in a Facebook video with the Old Hamburg Schnitzelhaus in the background. The German restaurant that used to be there announced its closure in November. It is located near Dollar Tree.

“Renovation starts right now,” says Lemke in the video.

As part of the project, everything that is already in the space will be taken out, he says in an April 8 interview with the Business Observer.

Aside from that, “the details are going to be kind of secret,” Lemke says, so that “people want to come out and see it. Two or three features we think are pretty exciting.”

The original sign from the pier, built in 1947, will be displayed, as will some items people found on the beaches, according to Lemke. 

The plan is to make the restaurant “as close to the pier as possible,” Lemke says. 

“The pier was more than just the water and the pier," he adds. "It was great food, great hospitality and cool people — and all that we can do at this location. We’re going to have to live with that until the pier is back up.”

Image courtesy of Google Maps

The temporary location will be at 3246 East Bay Drive, in a strip mall on the southern end of Anna Maria Island, about 4.5 miles from the old Rod and Reel.

Before the restaurant was destroyed in Hurricane Milton, Rod and Reel had about 40 employees.

“We are opening a temporary location to get our employees back to work, funding for the rebuild of the pier, and to provide a space for our community to gather,” the business says on Facebook.

The temporary location will have about 60 to 70 seats and half the employees the restaurant had when it was on the water, according to Lemke.

"Obviously, the revenue’s going to be not nearly what it was at the pier because there won't be people out there watching the sunset," he says.

The goal is to open for business sometime in May, according to Lemke, who says that is dependent on factors including labor and permits.

“Once we show that we’re back and we’re doing something,” Lemke says, "the news will spread from there."

Vowing to rebuild Rod and Reel, the restaurateur started a GoFundMe campaign last fall. As of April 7, it has raised almost $97,000 through nearly 1,000 donations, with a $300,000 goal.

Rebuilding the pier “will be a couple months down the road,” Lemke says, noting the project is currently going through permitting, planning and financing, so timing is tentative.

One thing the owner is certain of is that the temporary location will result in a return to the island of the flavor for which his restaurant was known.

“We realize it’s not the water, but still everything else is going to be the same: hospitality, good food, good drinks, atmosphere. Give us a chance,” Lemke says. “This is just going to be one part, one source to get the rebuilding money together. The faster we get the money, the faster we can act."