CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Around 10 a.m. Thursday, the Boathouse Tiki Bar & Grill site was already drawing curious bystanders; hopeful to witness the kind of progress that signals community growth.
That progress would be evident within a two-hour wait.
Demolition crews first knocked down existing fencing, allowing additional utility crews access to inspect the rubble-filled site.
Next, a large excavator was hauled in and quickly unloaded to begin tearing down the existing structure.
Minutes into the demolition, the heavy machinery brought down charred wooden beams that once supported a huge tiki-hut thatched roof over the bar.
Progress- via the sounds of splintering wood and smashed metal clanking toward concrete.
For 11 months, the Boathouse has been an area of wreckage blocked off from the Yacht Club Public Beach.
Many onlookers used the same word, "eyesore," to describe the once-beloved waterfront dining spot now being razed next to a pier that similarly, has existed in ruins.
"You're saying goodbye to something old and it's just like having — this was just like my place," one woman said, holding back tears. "I moved here from Kansas, from Wichita, Kansas by myself and so this was my sanctuary. My peace. "
Recently, the Cape Coral City Council approved a new lease for the Boathouse, finalizing an agreement with the Kearns Restaurant Group and paving the way for an upgraded waterfront restaurant.
During Wednesday night's meeting, the council reviewed Resolution 195-25, which outlines the new agreement for the restaurant.
