Santa Claus is coming to town — and so are a lot of paying customers.
Island businesspeople in the rental, restaurant, retail and charter fishing sectors are cheerful about customer volume this holiday season.
Out of the approximately 110 island homes and condos Wagner Realty rents for Christmas and New Year’s, only three remained available Dec. 14, said property manager Lisa Varano.
Most renters intend to celebrate both holidays on the island and booked their stays between June and September.
Whereas last year around the holidays Wagner experienced many cancellations due to the pandemic, this year the agency has seen only a handful of cancellations for nonpandemic-related reasons.
Varano said she expects the agency’s rentals to be booked solid through Easter.
“I’m thinking it’s trending toward normal — or the new normal. But I think it’s a little bit different because most of our winter rentals were booked up without the Canadians,” she said.
Varano speculates that pandemic-related travel requirements deterred Canadians from making annual trips to the area, while Americans who otherwise would have taken cruises and international vacations are taking refuge on the island.
In 2023, she anticipates an influx of Canadian and European visitors, who typically visit the island in the fall but were banned from flying to the United States until Nov. 8.
Restaurant owners Brian Mathae and Chris Dale expect their eateries to be full the week of Christmas and beyond.
Mathae, owner of Hurricane Hanks in Holmes Beach, said Dec. 14 that December sales numbers were similar to figures from 2020, when the island exploded with visitors fleeing pandemic restrictions in other parts of the United States.
However, the fact that the sales numbers do not far surpass those from last year leads Mathae to believe the exponential growth in volume experienced throughout 2021 might be leveling off.
“But that could be because this island is just at capacity, right?” he said.
Mathae said he expects business to be booming at Hurricane Hanks at least through Easter, especially with the lifting of the international travel ban.
Dale, owner of the Feast Restaurant, said Dec. 14 he has already seen some European and Canadian customers come through his eatery’s doors.
Around last year’s holidays, the Feast operated at 50% capacity due to the pandemic but didn’t see a dip in sales thanks to high demand for takeout orders.
This holiday season, the restaurant is back to full capacity while takeout order volume remains high.
Mathae echoed Dale’s sentiments.
“The to-go orders still continue more so than they ever were prior to COVID,” Mathae said.
“Part of that reality might be that it’s so busy on the island that getting to dine in is very difficult, so a lot of people are happy to just place a to-go order,” he said.
While the restaurateurs express their happiness with sales, both lament lingering consequences of the pandemic: high food prices, food scarcity and material shortages.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s terrible. Things went through the roof. We’re seeing increases of 30%, even more sometimes,” Dale said.
“Around this time of year, generally, lobster meat is around $25 per pound, and now it’s like $45, so it’s absolutely insane,” he said.
Mathae said scallops have doubled in price over the last year and that Hurricane Hanks couldn’t source some simple items, like oyster crackers.
Hurricane Hanks, 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, is closed Christmas Day but will offer drinks with a seasonal flair on Christmas Eve and Champagne on New Year’s Eve.
The restaurant might offer a special on bloody marys and burgers on New Year’s Day “to help people recover,” Mathae said.
The Feast, 5406 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but will be offering holiday specials on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Mermaid stocking stuffers
Retailer Deborah Myers, owner of Bridge Street Interiors, a mermaid-themed boutique, said Dec. 14 the Christmas season has been great so far and that Bridge Street shops have seen even heavier foot traffic than last year.
The shop, which celebrated its 20-year anniversary in October, has already sold out of ornaments featuring holiday-clad mermaids but many other ornaments adorning the boutique’s seven decorated Christmas trees are still available.
Myers said the high customer volume this year might be related to successful Bridge Street promotions and a surprise effect of the pandemic.
“People have found out about our island. Through COVID, they literally came to our island because we were open, and a lot of those same people are coming back two or three times a year,” she said.
Deck the hulls
Capt. David White, owner of Anna Maria Charters in Holmes Beach, told The Islander Dec. 14 he’s “booked solid” through February and has only eight days available in March.
Around the holidays, about 70% of his customers book several weeks in advance, while the remaining 30% make last-minute reservations.
White plans on taking customers out to fish on New Year’s Day and recently booked his first European client of the year, a man from the United Kingdom.
Inshore, White is targeting snook, redfish, trout, pompano, sheepshead and black drum — though he said the water hasn’t been sufficiently cold for the latter three species in recent weeks.
Offshore, he is targeting amberjack, barracuda, bonita, kingfish, grouper, snapper and tuna.
“We’re anticipating a busy season,” White said. “We’re not a secret on this island anymore.”