People on Anna Maria Island enjoyed one of 2020’s best gifts months before the holiday season came around.
The new Anna Maria City Pier opened on a limited basis in June for the first time since Hurricane Irma closed the historic pier in September 2017, but full access to the $6.8 million structure and its grill and bait shop opened earlier in December — just in time for the holidays.
Multiple city officials, including Mayor Dan Murphy and Commissioner Mark Short, named the pier’s completion the city’s top accomplishment of 2020.
“The opening of the Anna Maria City Pier, now with its grill and bait shop, is the best gift the city could give to island residents and visitors at this time of year,” Commissioner Carol Carter told The Islander Dec. 23.
The attraction was packed with visitors and anglers despite a chilly December breeze the day before Christmas Eve.
Island-themed tunes hummed from the T-end’s loudspeakers, broken up only by the grill’s occasional order announcements and the sound of anglers casting their lines.
Tampa-resident Marion Muffie, with a fishing pole in hand, told The Islander her family hadn’t had much luck fishing at the T-end, but was enjoying it regardless.
“The only thing we caught today was a shell,” Muffie said with a chuckle. “But we’re just crappy at fishing! We’re having a good time.”
She added that they visit the area a couple of times a year to fish at the end of the pier but hadn’t visited since the historic pier was shut down.
“We’ve been coming down here for years, so we were really pleased to hear the pier was open again,” Muffie said. “We love it out here. It’s just special.”
Chicago-resident Isaiah Rosas told The Islander that he caught a few mullet, which he kept in a bucket of water to his side, but didn’t have a knife to clean the fish, so he’d probably have to toss them back.
Regardless, Rosas said he was enjoying fishing at the pier while visiting family on the island. He called the pier one of the best fishing spots on the island, adding that he missed the pier in prior visits when it was closed.
“I love having the pier back,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to get out here and go fishing and I think it looks amazing.”
Sarasota-resident Kim Schmeits, sipping a beverage outside the bait shop window, told The Islander that — despite living nearby — the pier is his “little getaway.”
“We just hop up here occasionally,” Schmeits said. “We love it here. It’s very relaxed.”
“We live in paradise, right? But we come here and feel a little bit like we’re on vacation,” Schmeits added.
By 5 p.m., the canned island-style music floating across the T-end gave way to live music by Trevor Bystrom and percussionist James Hershey, “island-grown” musicians who perform at a variety of island venues.
Fishing coincides with the grill and bait shop hours, which are 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.