Mr. Waves Island Bar newest business to open on Beach
Times Square storefront transformed into eatery and watering hole
In the short amount of time Daniel and Nina Clarkston owned and operated the Sun Deck Inn and Suites, one of the oldest hotels on Fort Myers Beach, they encountered the covid pandemic, a small fire and lastly Hurricane Ian.
While the hotel will not be rebuilt after being destroyed by Hurricane Ian, the Clarkstons have instead focused their energy over the past year in opening Mr. Waves Island Bar at Times Square. The establishment, which was also damaged by Hurricane and took a year to rebuild, became the newest bar and restaurant to open on Fort Myers Beach this past weekend.
On Sunday, as the Town of Fort Myers Beach hosted a concert a hop away down Old San Carlos Boulevard at Bayside Park, the mood was jubilant at Mr Waves.
Mrs. Clarkston said business on opening weekend was “amazing. Just positive feedback. We are the first new bar to open after Ian. People are really happy to see that.”
While much of Times Square was destroyed last year by Hurricane Ian, the building the Clarkstons own was one of the few to survive the devastation. They acquired the property, which formerly housed the Teeki Hut, last summer with a group of investors a couple months before Ian struck. They also own the Cold Stone Creamery next door.
“Our side of The building was empty but Cold Stone was completely washed out and destroyed,” Mrs. Clarkston said. “Half of Times Square was against the back of our building and our roof had a lot of damage. The AC was damaged and pretty much all electric in the whole building. The whole outside needed to be rebuild or repaired.”
Clarkston said Cold Stone Creamery also had to be completely rebuilt.
“We knew about the structural strength about our building which was one of the reasons we wanted to acquire it. We were very lucky our building survived the hurricane and we were able to put in our business,” Mrs. Clarkston said.
Mr Waves focuses on serving bucket drinks and “beach food” like lobster rills, shrimp boats, avocado crab boats and flatbreads.
The loss of the Sun Deck Inn was “devastating,” Mrs. Clarkston said. “We can’t rebuild it.” Clarkston said they “knew immediately” the hotel would not be salvageable. The property would require being build up to new hurricane codes (at a higher elevation) due to the losses being above the 50% rule. “The hotel dates back to the 1940’s. A lot of the things were grandfathered in,” she said.
The Clarkstons lived in the owner’s suite of the hotel since they purchased the property. “We became friends with our guests,” Mrs. Clarkston said. They now live off island and also work in real estate.
This is the first time either one has operated a restaurant or bar before. Clarkston said the toughest part was “building a team.” They spent a year working on building the business after Ian damaged the property.
“We’re winging it,” Mrs. Clarkston said. “There is nothing better for this location than a bar/restaurant. … This view, looking at the bridge, is priceless.”