BRADENTON BEACH – The hurricane-damaged AMI Moose Lodge #2188 celebrated a joyous reopening on May 1.
Offering limited seating and no on-site parking, the lodge is now open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Offering a full menu and daily specials, the kitchen is open from noon to 7 p.m.
The lodge reopened Thursday morning at 11 a.m. with a short line of Moose members waiting in line outside the construction fence that still surrounds the lodge parking lot. A few minutes before parking lot attendants Jerry Wheeler and Eddie Huffsman opened the gate, Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton addressed the waiting members and said, “Thank you very much for being here.”
When speaking to The Sun, Dalton said, “This is a godsend. This is phenomenal. We’ve been waiting for seven months. The officers and employees have been busting their butts to get us open and now we’re here.”
The AMI Moose Lodge has more members than any other Moose lodge in the world and in appreciation of those members Dalton said, “Thank you for standing by us. Thanks for being a part of our fraternity. We missed you and we’re glad to be back.”
Inside the lodge, bartenders A.J. McGarvey and Linda Rosso waited for the first members to take their seats at the social quarters bar.
“I’m so excited. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. The community needs this,” McGarvey said.
“I am so excited. It’s been six-seven months and I just want to see it up and going again,” Rosso added.
Chicago natives and part-time Bradenton residents Deena and Richard Rush were the first in line, the first to enter the lodge and the first to be served drinks.
After receiving a draft beer, Richard said, “It’s wonderful. We’ve been checking Facebook for updates on when they’re going to open. Now that we’re here and seeing all these smiling faces, it made our day.”
After receiving a bloody mary, Deena said, “Everybody’s so friendly here and we’ve been looking forward this.”
While seated at the bar, Bradenton resident and longtime lodge member Bob Green said, “It feels good to be back.”
The social quarters offer 28 bar seats and 11 more stools by the large windows that provide a view of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. When the bar seats were full, arriving members wandered upstairs to the upper deck that offers more than 100 additional outdoor seats and a stunning view of the Gulf.
Dayton, Ohio residents and Moose Lodge #73 members Nate and Kelly Climey were the first members to be served by upper deck bartender Nobel Ekdahl.
“We didn’t know if they were going to open. We got lucky today. Tomorrow is our last day here and we saw they were going to open this morning,” Nate said.
“This is awesome. We’ve been watching on Facebook, hoping it would open during our visit,” Kelly said.
The upper deck service window faces the Gulf. When asked if he’s glad to be back at work, Ekdahl said, “Hell, yes. Wouldn’t you with this view?”
As the reopening unfolded, Dalton said, “It’s phenomenal. The members are coming in and they’re happy to see each other again. We signed up a few new members too.”
Sitting in the main entryway, Ann Gezen checked membership cards, signed up new members and offered members discounted swag bundles that included a Moose Lodge koozie and T-shirts bearing the new lodge logo that emphasizes the letters “AMI” in the logo that says “2188 family.” Moose member Debbie Cnook’s adult granddaughter, Brittany Smith, designed the new logo.
Lodge status
The front door that faces Gulf Drive is currently the only point of entry and the interior stairway provides access to the upper deck. The back door that previously led to the beach is currently located on the other side of the temporary plywood wall that separates the social quarters from the dining room that suffered significant damage when Hurricane Helene’s storm surge burst through the Gulf-front windows and the west wall in late September.
The dining room remains closed for the foreseeable future but the new dining room floor installed in 2023 survived and Dalton expects the dining room to reopen by Christmas, maybe sooner. The ground-level deck area that faces the beach and the Gulf remains closed for now because that area is still being used to deliver and stage construction materials. For safety purposes, the fenced-off lodge parking lot remains reserved for construction vehicles and construction material storage.
Dalton said the weekly Queen of Hearts drawings will resume soon and he invites non-members to become Moose members. The annual dues are $60, plus a one-time $20 enrollment fee. Moose Lodge #2188 is located at 110 Gulf Drive S. and the lodge website is www.mooselodge2188.com.
Deena and Richard Rush were the first to enter when the lodge reopened. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Bartenders Linda Rosso and A.J. McGarvey appreciate being back at work. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
A temporary plywood wall separates the social quarters from the dining room that remains closed. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
When working upstairs, bartender Nobel Ekdahl’s view includes the beach and the Gulf. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The new Moose T-shirt logo highlights the “AMI” in family. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Gulf-front deck remains closed for now as the dining room repairs continue. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
The dining room is expected to reopen before Christmas. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
Eddie Huffman and Jerry Wheeler manned the front gate on opening day. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
AMI Moose Lodge #2188 has the largest membership of any Moose lodge in the world. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
