At a public workshop about the Anna Maria City Pier’s future, one idea rose above the rest — bringing a restaurant back to the T-end.
The city held a workshop Jan. 27 to collect public input on how to fill the vacant T-end building that previously housed Mote Marine Laboratory’s Marine Science Education and Outreach Center.
The pier closed in 2024, after hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed its walkway and left the T-end inaccessible.
The city hired Gibsonton-based Tampa Bay Marine to demolish what remained of the walkway and rebuild it with better materials, like solid concrete pilings.
Mayor Mark Short said the contractor had completed the pile-driving process and was on track to complete the rebuild this fall.
However, Mote will not be there when the pier reopens.
Mote and the city mutually agreed earlier this year to terminate the lease for the eastern T-end building, leaving the space up for grabs.
So the municipality organized the workshop to spark a dialogue about how the space should be utilized.
Resident Amir Benaly opened public comment by calling for the vacant T-end building to be made into a coffee shop with packaged food.
“Something like this would be nice to have in there,” he said. “A lot of us, I feel like, share the same idea of just waking up in the morning, go sit out on the pier, have a cup of coffee, see the sunrise and enjoy the day.”
Janis Ian, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who resides in the city, added to the idea. She suggested combining the coffee shop concept with “the equivalent of a New York hot dog stand.”
Ian said one or more hot dog stands could be carted on and off the pier as needed, which would preserve space in the vacant T-end building for seating visitors — including those arriving and departing on Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry service.
Brian Seymour, a former city commissioner and co-owner of the City Pier Grill, was the first to float the idea of reestablishing a full-service restaurant.
The historic pier featured a restaurant in the same space for decades until it was damaged in 2017 by Hurricane Irma and rebuilt.
Seymour said he had seen many people call for a restaurant to be brought back to the pier, which he said could be done with minimal impacts to the infrastructure since it was rebuilt with such operations in mind.
He added that it would not make sense to renew his lease for the City Pier Grill without securing the vacant T-end building for a restaurant.
Seymour said the grill’s current space could be converted into restaurant storage while still serving as a snack shack and bait-and-tackle shop.
Resident Cory Jackson, a vacation rental business owner, said many of the renters he has spoken with want a restaurant on the pier again.
He said that the Rod & Reel Pier — which was also destroyed in the 2024 storms — is not guaranteed to return.
“We want it to happen, but if it doesn’t happen, we need a restaurant,” Jackson said.
A few community members submitted written comments, also calling for a restaurant on the pier.
Bradenton Beach resident Karen McDonald wrote that the city has a “golden opportunity to reinstate on-the-water dining on the pier.”
“I hope the city has the good sense to go back to having a family restaurant out on their pier,” she wrote. “People LOVED going there! It is just fine having beverages and light bites at the north end of the pier but have a restaurant on the south end.”
Bradenton resident Vicki Hart wrote, “I think I speak for many when I say that the way it used to be in the early 2000s was best. The City Pier was a great restaurant and Mote was a waste of money and resources. Bring back an old Florida crab shack-style seafood joint. We lost Annie’s, we lost Rod & Reel Pier — bring back the old AMI and say no to any more rip-offs.”
After closing public comment, Commission Chair Charlie Salem said the city will continue to discuss and encouraged community members to voice their opinions at meetings.
Short thanked attendees for participating in the workshop and expressed optimism for the pier.
“We have our work cut out for us. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But I firmly believe that with this commission, we will come to the right decision for the city of Anna Maria.”
The city commission will meet next at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Pier rebuild financial update
The city of Anna Maria had spent $1,661,109 on rebuilding the city pier as of Jan. 27, according to Mayor Mark Short.
The municipality projects the rebuild, which includes reconstruction of the pier’s walkway and repairs to its T-end, will cost $7,139,500-$7,820,000.
So far, the city has received commitments from outside sources to fund $6,740,000 of that work, including:
- $3,500,000 from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency;
- $1,990,000 from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council;
- $1,250,000 from the state.
Short said plans for the vacant T-end building may impact cost estimates for the rebuild, since different uses may require changes to the pier infrastructure.
— Ryan Paice