Rainy Easter Weekend and Pompano Beach Pier Renovation drags on and on and on

Wow how time gets away from us. We were gone only 4 days and and now we feel like we are two weeks behind. Easter came and went, and we left South Florida for Louisiana where we had absolutely fabulous weather for the long Easter Holiday, sunny, in the 70's and no humidity, while our fellow Floridians unfortunately were soaking it up, but not in the sun. It rained and blew for the whole Easter weekend here in South Florida. We always feel badly for the tourists that are spending their hard earned dollars for some sun and sand and instead are getting rain and wind. But that is Florida for you, it is a real crap shoot. And we can certainly help with that too. We have the casinos here, so one can gamble what there is left of their bank account. The Seminoles and Broward County are more than happy to accommodate them.

Not too long ago we wrote about some of the nice fishing piers here in South Florida. Well, the one in Pompano Beach is having its share of political fallout and fall in the ocean. Seems that the pier is under renovation and was supposed to be finished in December, but the last news has not been good. The Pompano Beach pier that closed sometime last Fall did not reopen at year's end as scheduled.

Commissioners postponed renewing Dania Pier Management's contract in early January to temporarily manage the parking lot and the still-to-be-rebuilt bait shop and snack bar. Dania Pier Management paid the city $36,000 for rights to those concessions for a year, ending in December 2007, when those buildings and a separate shuttered restaurant were demolished.
At the meeting it was decided that the city manager would review the procurement process for the concessions. If the commission requests another round of bids, it could be months before baited lines are dropped into the sea. Word is there is no deadline, but the city is supposed to be moving quickly. Ever heard of a government body moving quickly? More like Quick Sand!

Finally on March 20th the pier was partially opened for fishing and strolling. The bait shop and the restaurant are still in the planning stages, but the restroom will be open and free parking temporarily while the construction continues. Thoughts are that the work on the pier alone will be in progress thru August. So a restaurant and bait shop will certainly be a long time coming. City officials are still negotiating with representatives of MCK Restaurants Inc., which is affiliated with Bonefish Mac's grill of Lighthouse Point regarding a restaurant. Who knows about the bait shop? For the time being, bring your own.


Here is a quote from a grieving local,
"Was Fisherman's Wharf run down? Yes. Was the clientele a problem? Maybe for some. Was the restaurant/menu good? Not really. Was the music good? You bet. Were the patrons friendly? Yes. Was the staff friendly? Yes. Was it a great place to meet up with friends? Absolutely. Did the pier attract customers from all walks of life? Definitely. Was the pier a busy place most every day of the week? For sure. For me Fisherman's Wharf was a great local place, and I'll miss the diversity of the people that visited there."


This is what the pier is supposed to look like when it is finally finished.

C'est La Vie in South Florida