Bradenton Beach’s historic Bridge Street Pier is back open, fully renovated and bustling with excited visitors.
"It looks beautiful," said visitor Ed Danko. "They did a really good job."
The pier is one of the biggest tourist attractions on Bradenton Beach. For Bridge Street businesses, it’s a vital asset.
When the pier closed two years ago due to storm damage, Cast N Cage Restaurant, which sits at the top of the pier, lost the majority of their business.
“We had large cranes and all kinds of gas fumes, they did not want to sit there with that,” said owner Roland Pena.
Pena says they struggled to pay rent and questioned the restaurant’s future. However, now that the pier is back open, their eatery is doing better than ever. Pena says they are not going anywhere.
“I plan on staying hear as long as my lease contract allows me to stay and that is up to at least 12 years,” Pena said.
Parked at the pier's floating dock, Octavio Utrera has his sightseeing business “Anna Maria Sight Seeing.”
Utrera says his business also took a hit and he had to relocate to Coquina Beach. But now that the pier is back, so is his business and customers.
“I am happy," said Utrera. "I am really happy.”
The city is continuing renovations near the pier’s clock tower heading towards Bridge Street. The City also says the pier was not only finished on time, but under budget.