Business Notes
Sweet Melissa’s Cafe wins Award of Excellence
James Beard-nominated Sweet Melissa’s Cafe has been honored by Wine Spectator’s 2020 Restaurant Awards with the Award of Excellence.
The annual program recognizes restaurants around the world. Award recipients are celebrated for their breadth across multiple wine growing regions and a vertical depth of top wines.
Sweet Melissa’s Caf is one of 2,289 restaurants in the world to receive the award this year. Wine Spectator has presented the restaurant with the award for the past three years.
The magazine honors excellence in wine lists, recognizing programs in all 50 states and 80 countries and territories.
For more information, visit www.sweetmelissascafe.com/menu.
Sweet Melissa’s Cafe is at 1625 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel.
San Cap Community Bank opens Bridge Branch
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank recently opened its eighth location – the Bridge Branch – at 9311 College Parkway, Fort Myers.
Located at the corner of College Parkway and McGregor Boulevard, the $5-million newly renovated building is the largest branch in Lee County and one of six that are located off of Sanibel.
The 16,000-square-foot building features two drive-thru lanes, a drive-up ATM, night drop and safe deposit boxes. It also houses the bank’s operations center and over 40 employees, including training facilities and multiple conference rooms.
Founded in 2003, Sanibel Captiva Community Bank started with one location on Sanibel. Since then, it has grown its Lee County presence. The main office is at 2475 Library Way and a second branch is at 1031 Periwinkle Way, both on Sanibel. Five other locations are located throughout Lee County.
Lee County snags top recycling spot
The amount of material Lee County residents recycled in 2019 would be enough to fill 138 football fields with material 70 feet high – as high as the Sanibel Causeway Bridge.
Lee County received credit for recycling 1.8 million tons of the total 2.27 million tons of waste generated locally in 2019, according to numbers released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It brings the county’s recycling rate to 80 percent.
It is the fifth time Lee County has led the state in recycling since Florida began tracking in 2000.
Recycling credits include curbside recycling by residents as well as business recycling of materials such as cardboard, yard waste, scrap metal and construction and demolition debris, among other items. Lee County also receives recycling credit for energy produced from garbage processed at the waste-to-energy plant in Buckingham.
Business Notes
Chamber to host Virtual Power Hour
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce will host a Virtual Power Hour on July 15 at noon.
Guest speaker Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried will talk about water quality and clean energy and provide an update on the state budget.
The meeting is sponsored by the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.
The chamber has a Zoom invitation to its members to register for the event. When members RSVP, they will receive a link to the Zoom meeting in advance. They can send questions beforehand to Ashley Pignato at ashley@sanibel-captiva.org or submit them at the meeting using the chat feature.
Wagner named Lion of the Year
The Sanibel Captiva Lions Club recently announced that Rick Wagner has been named Lion of the Year for 2019-20.
During the past year, Wagner has served as: a member of the board of directors, treasurer and Webmaster; chair of the Christmas Tree Sales; co-chair of eyeglasses collection and on the Arts and Crafts Fair Committee; volunteer at the Trailways Camp and at Night To Shine; and helped park vehicles at a number of events.
His untiring spirit exemplifies what it means to be a Lion and to live the Lion’s motto of “We Serve.”
The club thanked Wagner for his contributions to the club and the greater island community.
For more information about the club, visit www.sanibelcaptivalionsclub.org.
SCBR expands role of Berger to GM
Sanibel Captiva Beach Resorts recently announced the promotion of Michele Berger to general manager of the West Wind Inn on Sanibel.
Currently, she serves as general manager of the ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa on Captiva.
Berger will oversee operations at both resorts, with an emphasis on staff management and guest satisfaction. She will supervise daily operations across many different aspects, focusing on nurturing a knowledgeable and customer-centric staff, continuing guest satisfaction and committing to the needs of future travelers.
Berger brings a significant amount of experience and wide-ranging skills to the West Wind Inn. Prior to joining SCBR, she excelled with 20 years of retail and hospitality experience.
Kiger promoted, Sprecher hired
NOISE Inc. recently announced the promotion of Gina Kiger as social media leader, as well as the hiring of Eric Sprecher as social content and media relations coordinator.
Kiger previously worked as social media coordinator, engaging with clients on various social media outlets and contributing to the growth of their audience, followers and sales. Her goal as social media leader is to continue growth and engagement, while analyzing and deploying different strategies and tactics.
Kiger graduated with honors from Rowan University in New Jersey. She previously worked as the social media manager for L&H Bridal in Philadelphia and was student assistant to the dean at Rohrer College of Business.
Sprecher will use his craft to create content for clients in the form of blogs, press releases and feature articles.
He previously interned with Yelp Inc. as a social media coordinator, where he helped boost user interaction, coordinate events for users and restaurants, and contributed to the growth of Yelp Milwaukee’s social media platforms. Sprecher has also contributed podcasts, articles and interviews for various publications such as Vavel USA, Baseball Essential and Raging Wanderlust.