Anna Maria Island's Rod & Reel Pier to return on land

The Rod & Reel Pier reopens on land

FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon dives into the new Rod & Reel Pier on Anna Maria Island, which is reopening as an indoor restaurant after Hurricane Milton.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. - Since 1947, the Rod & Reel Pier has stood as a landmark on Anna Maria Island as generations of families have cast a fishing line or grabbed a grouper sandwich at their restaurant. But, Hurricane Milton completely washed away the Rod & Reel.

Six months later, the owner announced they were working to reopen, this time on land instead of water.

"We come out here every year, and we’d always make it out here for dinner. The food and the key lime pie especially," said Barbara Hartline.

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For Hartline and Bonnie Flowers of Michigan, the few remaining Rod & Reel Pier pilings bring back memories.

What they're saying:

"It’s sad. I love the memorial, and hopefully, one day, it will be back. We miss it," said Flowers.

Four miles away at a shopping plaza in Holmes Beach, the Rod & Reel is coming back to life.

They’ll be taking the location of the former Old Hamburg Schnitzelhaus.

"The idea obviously is to transfer the pier to this new location. We do realize we are missing something. That’s the water, of course," said Oli Lemke.

Lemke, of Germany, owns Rod & Reel, and had just purchased the Rod & Reel 10 months before Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Dig deeper:

Losing the pier, he said, was a big hit. Right away, however, Lemke began brainstorming.

"We were going to find a place to put our staff back to work. The second is to raise some money and the third is obviously, so the community won’t forget about us," said Lemke.

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At their new location, memorabilia from the Rod & Reel Pier will be displayed, including some items that washed ashore following Hurricane Milton.

"It’ll be the same staff, the same menu, the same hospitality, and the inside will be a little bit of a surprise, but we gave a lot of thought to this," said Lemke.

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Lemke expects about half of Rod & Reel’s staff to return. He knows some have voiced their skepticism, but he asked the community and visitors to give them a chance.

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"We see the comments that say, ‘Oh yeah, it’ll be in the strip mall, not the pier.’ But as I said, we were famous for being a pier, enjoying the sunsets and things like that, but also I think we had very good hospitality, very good food, nice atmosphere and all that we supply here as well," Lemke said.

What's next:

Hartline and Flowers told FOX 13 they’ll be back to try the new Rod & Reel next season.