Island pillars return with chamber ribbon-cuttings

Two iconic island businesses celebrated their posthurricane reopenings with a ribbon-cutting by the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce and other festivities Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille rejoined the Sanibel commercial scene on Feb 17, followed by Billy's Bikes on Sanibel on Feb 19

Doc Ford's opened on Sanibel in 2003 and moved to its present location in 2016, and from there spawned spinoffs all the way to St Petersburg It officially first reopened its doors following the 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting to a line of eager diners

“We're excited to get back open after a long 4 5 months of rebuilding,” partner Joe Harrity said “We've heard nothing but excitement about our reopening, and the reopening of the island as a whole Being able to get our employees back to work is a great feeling as well, as about 75 percent of our staff prior to the storm are coming back, and some never left, helping us through the rebuild ”

The restaurant returns not only with familiar faces, but the same look and menu to bring back a sense of normalcy and comfort post-storm As in the past, the restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner

“We received about 8 inches of water throughout the building,” Harrity said. “We decided it was best to cut the 4 feet of drywall and wainscoting to remove any possibility of mold We are getting all new booths and did a completely new paint job inside, so the place will really look nice ”

“We've had so many inquiries wondering when Doc

Billy’s Bikes celebrated its grand opening with free bicycle rentals for the day, along with hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream and treats from other island businesses

“Owner Billy Kirkland was a godsend and valuable resource since Ian hitting helping neighbors and other businesses in ways too many to count,” Lai said. “We celebrated his comeback in a big way, which was only fitting ”

Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille is at 2500 Island Inn Road, Sanibel

Billy’s Bikes is at 2437 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel

From

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t https://www lee vote or contact 239-5338683.

The following is an overview of each candidate, based on information that they provided:

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W e e k o f W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h page 1

∫ Richard Johnson, 66 P r e s i d e n t a n d g e n e r a l m a n a g e r o f Bailey's General Store, Johnson has been visiting the island since 1980 and became a permanent resident in 2004 He is currently seated on the city council and is serving as vice mayor, and he has served on the Sanibel Planning Commission. Johnson is a past board chair for Community Housing and Resources, the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce and the Sanibel Community Association He is a member of the Committee of the Islands and Coastal Watch and once served on The Sanibel School A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e a n d S a n i b e l C h a r t e r R e v i e w Committee