After nearly three years of waiting, The Whale Bar & Grill is almost back.
Construction is moving along, and if all goes according to plan, the Fort Myers Beach staple will reopen this fall with a bigger building, the same beloved menu, and a few new surprises.
Dawn and Mike Miller had only owned the Whale for three months before Hurricane Ian tore the restaurant to shreds.
"The hardest thing was the day we walked up and saw it was gone, so that was really difficult," said Dawn. "I didn't know I had fallen in love with the restaurant as much as I had..."
There’s been some concern about Fort Myers Beach losing its charm as more buildings go up. But in an exclusive interview with Gulf Coast News Wednesday, the Millers said The Whale is still the same at heart, just with a little more space to soak it all in.
The new Whale will have three floors, including a massive rooftop tiki bar, space for nightly live music, and even a “Buckeye Bar” on the ground level; paying tribute to the owner's favorite football team.
"We have a team of artists who are going to work on renderings in the stairwells and throughout the building," Dawn said.
But rebuilding wasn’t as simple as designing a bigger space and picking paint colors. It took years of meetings, permits, and pushing through red tape. Mike and Dawn say they went to so many town and LPA meetings, they lost count.
“I can’t even tell you how many,” Mike said. “I wanted to sell, and she wouldn't let me, which is a good thing. We're bringing back an icon and a staple to this island. And, by doing this, we want to see more small businesses and people be able to build back instead of having all the big conglomerates coming into town."
For the Millers, who live on the island, bringing back The Whale isn’t just about reopening a restaurant — it's about restoring a piece of home.
Once it’s up and running, the new Whale will create 75 jobs and feature live music nightly on Fort Myers Beach.
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