FORT MYERS, Fla. — For many Easter Sunday is a celebration of resurrection and renewal, but for John and Wendy Southworth it’s a celebration of their love.
“We’ve come to Fort Myers today to celebrate Easter and to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary,” said John Southworth.
However, the Southworth's Easter in 2020, was a bit different as the pandemic just started to take over.
“COVID canceled our plans for our 50th last year,” said Southworth.
One year later, the couple says they weren't going to let Covid ruin their special day.
“Now that we’ve been able to start getting our shots and moving about with people, we feel less confined than a year ago,” said Southworth.
Deciding to get out with the rest of the community, and making a stop at Downtown Fort Myers City Tavern, Manager Wendy Ibanez says, it’s refreshing to see crowds of people this Easter Weekend.
“Last Easter weekend it was scary nobody had jobs, nobody knew when we were going to open back up. Now everybody is out enjoying their Sunday walking around, restaurants are full, bars are full,” said Wendy Ibanez, manager at City Tavern in Downtown Fort Myers.
Customers like the Southworth's say they are happy to help businesses get back on their feet.
“We like to be out and about enjoying the beautiful weather, the beautiful scenery, cocktails, fine food, and just the openness of Florida,” said Ibanez.
Seeing the influx of people hang out in Downtown Fort Myers this Easter Weekend, Ibanez tells Fox 4 she hopes this is a trend that will continue.
“The vibe is like COVID never happened everybody is comfortable, I would say our numbers downtown as a whole is up even from 2 years ago so it’s a big relief,” said Ibanez.
