About 350 people show up by noon Oct. 3 and others came throughout the day and night to Moose Lodge No. 2188’s grand re-opening at the lodge, 110 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. The celebration capped a year-long construction project. Islander Photos: Ed Scott
While others celebrate inside, dozens of people attended the outdoor ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Oct. 3. Member Lorraine Lancaster of Longboat Key said she visited the lodge throughout renovations, which began with demolition in October 2014. “We’d come down to check out the progress and it’s been wonderful,” Lancaster said. “It’s so different now.”
Moose Lodges such as No. 2188 in Bradenton Beach have worked hard in recent years to make their facilities more family friendly, said Byron Dalton, assistant general governor of Moose International. Melissa Osborne of Bradenton is flanked Oct. 3 by her daughters, Madalyn, 3, and Jaylen, 10. “It’s gorgeous,” Melissa said of the renovated lodge. “I can’t wait to see upstairs.”
The star attraction at Moose Lodge No. 2188 always will be the Gulf of Mexico, which Moose territorial manager Billy Burke of Port Charlotte — who attended the Oct. 3 grand re-opening — calls the “largest pool” at any lodge. Now members have a rooftop dining area from which to enjoy their Gulf view.
Rooftop dining was not part of the original renovation plan, which began with discussions about two years ago. Ernie Casali, above, administrator of the lodge, said he was relieved to have reached this point. “I’m happy we got this far and we’re open and we’re making money,” Casali said Oct. 3, also his 65th birthday.
For some clubs, the profit center is the bar. Lodge administrator Ernie Casali says the Moose Lodge No. 2188 has one of the largest bars in Manatee County. The bar is one example of how the project “almost tripled” in scope on the same footprint, Casali said. The Bradenton Beach lodge also has one of the largest, if not the largest rosters at 7,700 members.
Byron Dalton, assistant general governor of Moose International in Chicago, speaks to lodge members, including Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie, rear, at the grand re-opening. Dalton said lodges have supported Moose charities since 1922. They include Mooseheart, an expansive residential childcare facility west of Chicago, and Moosehaven, a retirement community in Northeast Florida for members of the Loyal Order of Moose and Women of the Moose.