MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The largest moose lodge in the country is back open, welcoming members to a completely renovated building.
What You Need To Know
- The Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge was closed for months after Hurricane Helene, but fully reopened its doors earlier this month
- Debra Snook described the damage caused by Helene, with Milton happening two weeks later
- The last step in the rebuilding process will be completing the parking lot
The Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge was closed for months after Hurricane Helene, but fully reopened its doors earlier this month.
“Kind of like losing part of your home… part of your family,” said Debra Snook, who has worked there since 2007.
Now the family is back together.
“We are all family. We help each other out,” she explained.
Snook described the damage caused by Helene, with Milton happening two weeks later.
“The water shoved the wall. That all got shoved out. And tables and chairs were piled up with about five feet of sand on the floor,” she said.
The entire building needed to be renovated — almost everything was replaced.
“New beer lines, new water lines, new everything,” Snook said.
The last step in the rebuilding process will be completing the parking lot, which is expected to be open Friday.
“They came in yesterday, and they are here today,” she said.
The patio area opened for the first time Thursday. The staff thinks that will have a positive impact.
“I think that limited our business a little. Not a lot, but it is a slow time of year. But it’s still going pretty good,” she said.
Now that the entire lodge is open, Snook has her eyes set on one mission.
“And I hope this year that we can manage to donate and help out as many people as we did the year before the hurricane, because last year was a little rough. You know, we were closed, what, seven, eight months?” she said.
Overcoming everything Helene and Milton threw at the Moose Lodge was a challenge — but Snook knows that now the customers and employees have returned, that family feeling is back for good.
The Moose Lodge says the Queen of Hearts game is back on.
Julia Hazel
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