SANCAP CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Business owners at the Sanibel Marina on Sanibel cut three ribbons at one cutting with the SanCap Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 8.

Feb. 8 marked a banner day for Sanibel’s business community as the SanCap Chamber of Commerce celebrated three ribbon-cuttings at the Sanibel Marina for the long-anticipated reopening of Gramma Dot’s waterfront restaurant, new Adventure in Paradise (AIP) tour operations, and Moke and Cabana Club rentals.

“It was a beautiful, ‘chamber of commerce day’ in more ways than one,” chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said. “Sanibel Marina became a hub of celebration that sunshiny day as we welcomed back one of our favorite dining spots and congratulated an iconic tour operation and a new and needed service.”

Long a part of the marina, Gramma Dot’s came under new ownership by the Acme Marina Company on Jan. 9. Under the prior ownership, it had reopened with a food truck for about nine months following Hurricane Ian. The full restaurant did a soft reopening on Dec. 13. It is now fully open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily with the complete lunch and dinner menu, including old favorites like coconut shrimp, grouper sandwiches and key lime pie.

The marina will fully reopen later this month, with most of the restoration having been completed by previous owners Spring and Ron Rosen.

“Significant improvements will be continuing in 2024 under current ownership, so the property will be fully restored beyond its authentic pre-hurricane state while retaining its same character and charm,” Brandt O’Kelley, of Acme, said.

Since 1986, AIP has been running boat tours out of the Port Sanibel Marina, just off island. Since then, it opened another base on Fort Myers Beach and now is establishing itself at the Sanibel Marina. The expansion grew out of Ian, when the Stewart family immediately came to the rescue of islanders and businesses, putting into service their boats that survived the storm at Port Sanibel.

“After Ian, the boats were departing from Port Sanibel Marina and bringing everyone and everything to Sanibel Marina,” AIP co-founder Evelyn Stewart said. “A relationship with Ron Rosen, then owner of Sanibel Marina, and our son Noah Stewart developed. Adventures in Paradise, being a long-time island business, believes that Sanibel Marina is the perfect Sanibel match.”

Deemed “hurricane heroes” by the local community, Noah and brother Josh jumped into service the morning after the storm. From that point on, they ran their boats seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for three weeks straight. They rescued about 1,200 people off the island and transported search and rescue teams including the U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, Red Cross, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, contractors, workers, city and county officials, F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva, and authorized residents.

“These two individuals were raised on Sanibel and felt it was their responsibility to do what had to be done with the tools they had to work with,” Evelyn Stewart said. “The sense of ‘this is my community’ was uppermost in the family’s mind.”

AIP was able to run limited nature boat tours following the storm. At the Sanibel Marina, it will offer morning, afternoon and sunset dolphin and wildlife cruises and a shelling beach and lunch cruise to Cabbage Key, plus private and holiday cruises.

Moke and Cabana Club opened pre-Ian in 2022 and worked on a delivery basis after the storm without a dedicated home base. It now partners with the Sanibel Marina for office space, from where it rents electric vehicles known as Mokes, golf carts, beach cabanas and chairs, and electric surfboards.

“Ian was devastating for us personally and for our business,” co-owner Chelsea Sweiss said. “We lost all our rental vehicles and had no local business for quite a while. However, we strive to see the positive in any situation and believe having a location at the Sanibel Marina will benefit visitors and locals. Boaters will have easy access to transportation; our vintage aesthetic adds to the beauty of the marina; and we are eco-friendly with our Mokes being electric and our golf carts being very fuel efficient.”

The Sanibel Marina is at 634 N. Yachtsman Drive, Sanibel.