ANNA MARIA – One year ago, Hurricanes Helene and Milton inundated Anna Maria Island, destroying two iconic piers, leaving only the Bradenton Beach pier standing.
On Sept. 26, Helene inflicted significant damage on the privately-owned, wooden Rod & Reel Pier and the two-story restaurant and bar building at the end of the pier. Helene stripped the pier of its wooden planks and wreaked havoc on utility lines that ran from the shoreline to the pier building, also damaged in the storm. The old wooden pier was badly damaged but remained standing.
Built atop hollow, spun concrete pilings, the city-owned Anna Maria City Pier fared much better during Hurricane Helene and appeared to have sustained minimal damage. But inspectors later determined the City Pier’s structural support system was weakened by Hurricane Helene.
During the evening hours of Oct. 9, 2024 and the early morning hours of Oct. 10, Hurricane Milton destroyed most of what remained of the Rod & Reel Pier and restaurant building, leaving behind some pilings and some support beams that now serve as seabird perches. Much of the Rod & Reel debris washed ashore at nearby waterfront homes.
Hurricane Milton obliterated most of the City Pier walkway and left stranded the still standing T-end buildings occupied by the City Pier Grill and the Mote Marine Science, Education and Outreach Center that remain closed with no pedestrian access until a new pier walkway is built. The destruction of the City Pier also left Anna Maria without a Gulf Islands Ferry stop.
Plans to rebuild
In late March, Rod & Reel Pier owner Oliver Lemke announced his plans to open a landbound version of the Rod & Reel Pier restaurant in the former Old Hamburg Schnitzel Haus space in the Anna Maria Island Centre in Holmes Beach. On Sept. 12, video was posted at the Rod & Reel Pier Facebook page showing the kitchen equipment being delivered. When contacted, Lemke said he expects to open the new Rod & Reel Pier restaurant in Holmes Beach in October.
With many financial and permitting hurdles to clear, Lemke hopes to one day rebuild the original Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria. To date, the “Help Us Rebuild Rod and Reel Pier” GoFundMe page has received more than $101,000 in donations from those who support those efforts.
A Sept. 20 visit to the Anna Maria location revealed a sign affixed to the closed Rod & Reel Pier gate that notes the pier was built in 1947 and destroyed by Hurricane Milton last October.
“We will rebuild,” the sign says.
Plastic flowers, a pair of sandals, an inflatable water toy, seashells and other items have also been attached to the gate that now serves as a makeshift shrine to the lost pier.
The city of Anna Maria and Mayor Mark Short recently received nine bid proposals from construction companies seeking the contract to replace the City Pier walkway. Short will soon present city commissioners with his recommended construction firm for the estimated $8 million pier replacement project that also includes repairs needed to restore the damaged and deteriorating T-end buildings.
Short hopes to have the City Pier reopened in October 2026 and the county hopes to install a new ferry stop alongside the pier around that same time.
