After Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Myakka River rose until Snook Haven sat under 4 feet of water. Portions of the old riverside grounds at 5000 E. Venice Ave. flooded often, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The rebuild that ends Friday, Nov. 6, starts from that fact.
The new structures are elevated and set farther back from the banks. The Herald-Tribune reported that the original budget for this first phase was $8.75 million. Along with the new concession building, pavilion and bandshell, the project added a fishing pier, accessible walks connecting the boat ramp and the canoe and kayak launch, and a cabin converted into an outfitter. Of all of it, the kitchen is the last piece still waiting for approval.
Snook Haven has been closed since April 30, 2025. The river access comes back first, and the barbecue follows once the kitchen clears.
The River Side Is Built
Sarasota County's project page lists what this phase delivers:
- A new ADA-compliant food service building
- A covered pavilion with seating and a view of the river
- A replacement bandshell, also ADA-compliant, with an accessible patio
- A new fishing pier with accessible parking
- One existing cabin converted into a canoe and kayak outfitter with a public restroom
- Accessible walks linking the boat ramp and the canoe and kayak launch, plus site-specific themed furnishings
Sweet Sparkman Architects designed the project and Jon F. Swift Construction built it. Funding came from impact fees, Surtax III, Surtax IV and Tourist Development Capital dollars.
The county's Sept. 30 update reported that all exterior site work was finished, pending final permit closeout. Inspections for the bandshell and a storage building were scheduled for early October. On Sept. 10, a Parks Department volunteer workday removed invasive plants along the shoreline and cleaned up the grounds. So the outdoor parts, the ones that put people on the water, were the first to be done.
The Herald-Tribune put it plainly: the main offering is access to the Myakka River itself. You can grab a bite with music, launch a canoe or kayak, or eventually stay longer at the campground.
The Reopening Calendar, Piece by Piece
The date has already moved once. In August, The Sarasota Record reported an Oct. 15 reopening, based on a county update from July 31. The county has since invited the public to a ribbon-cutting on Nov. 6. Here is where each piece stands:
- Friday, Nov. 6, 8:30 a.m. The ribbon-cutting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Facebook. County officials hope to open the park to the public later that day.
- The concession, date to be set. The restaurant's opening is still subject to final certification.
- Thursday, Nov. 12. The Gulf Coast Banjo Society is scheduled to resume its performances.
- 2027. A campground on the former Camp Venice property is expected to open, according to The Sarasota Record.
The first and third items are dated. The second depends on paperwork and inspections. Treat Nov. 6 as the scheduled date, and check the county's project page before you drive down.
The Kitchen Is the Last Piece
In its Sept. 30 update, the county said it was still coordinating the delivery and installation of kitchen equipment for the concession building, and that final inspections would follow once the equipment was in place.
The operator is close to settled. The Herald-Tribune reported on Oct. 13 that SSA Group, a Denver-based company that runs food concessions at attractions nationwide, is the likely vendor. A county spokeswoman told the paper the concession agreement was in its final administrative stages. SSA already runs restaurants at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, the Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens and the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens.
The building itself hints at the menu. The Herald-Tribune reported that the concession building was designed to fit a smoker so the future operator could serve barbecue. Sam Burr, SSA Group's vice president for the Southeast Region, told the paper that barbecue would be on the menu along with a fresh catch of the day, fish and chips and gator bites. "We know how important Snook Haven is to the community," Burr said, according to the Herald-Tribune. He also said the menu would respond to public feedback.
So the restaurant will be newer to the site than anything else there. The Venice Pier Group ran Snook Haven from mid-2012 through the end of April 2025, and the grounds also hosted the annual Myakka River Blues Festival. The next operator inherits a riverbank with deep habits. The most durable of them comes back on a Thursday.
Thursdays Return on the 12th
The Gulf Coast Banjo Society played Thursday shows at Snook Haven for 38 years, from 1987 until 2025, the Herald-Tribune reported. The group is scheduled to start again on Thursday, Nov. 12, six days after the ribbon-cutting.
The stage they come back to is new. The county replaced the old bandshell with an ADA-compliant version and an accessible patio, and the covered pavilion nearby looks out over the river. The tradition is the same as before. The building it plays in has been raised and pulled back from the water.
The new Thursday shows are where the staged opening becomes something you can plan around. The Banjo Society has a date, and the restaurant has a likely operator and a menu sketch. If the kitchen's certification takes longer than expected, the music and the river can still go ahead without it.
A Landing Before It Was a Restaurant
The site has worked this way from the beginning. In 1931, a movie crew cut a dirt road from River Road down to the Myakka to shoot a film about a French Indochina prison colony, the Herald-Tribune reported. The paper also describes the site as a bootlegger outpost in the 1930s. In 1936, a wealthy Michigan resident built a retirement house there.
The fish camp came next. According to the Venice Gondolier/Sun's account of the site's history, retired police officer Frank Coville opened it in 1948, selling bait, food and drinks. He named it Snook Haven after seeing an angler carrying a stringer of snook. The original restaurant structure was built in 1958, ten years after the bait counter.
Sarasota County bought the property in 2006 for $2.6 million and turned it into a park. The 2026 rebuild keeps the site's original order, with river access first and food alongside it.
The Park Behind the Pavilion
The Herald-Tribune describes the longtime Venice landmark as the centerpiece of an ambitious 45-acre regional park. The Sarasota Record reports that the original fish camp was 2.5 acres when the county bought it, and that the county has since added parcels.
The biggest addition is next door. The county completed its purchase of the 20-acre Camp Venice property in October 2025 for $14 million. According to the Herald-Tribune, it was the 100th acquisition under the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program. The former Camp Venice RV Resort will become the Snook Haven Campground, which The Sarasota Record says is expected to open in 2027.
The longer plan reaches past the park's fence. The Sarasota Record reported that county staff proposed a 10-year concept plan in late July. It positions Snook Haven as a hub and trailhead connecting Sleeping Turtles Preserve South, Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and Jelks Preserve. A planned multi-use path along River Road would form part of the Florida Gulf Coast Trail between Tampa and Naples. The plan was scheduled to go before the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee on Aug. 6 and the Parks Advisory and Recreation Council on Sept. 3, then to the County Commission.
Seen against that plan, the Nov. 6 opening is the first phase of a longer project. The pier, the launch and the outfitter cabin are the parts of the park meant to connect to everything planned around it. The restaurant is how most people will first come back. The river access is what the county has been building for.
If you are fitting the reopening into a fall that already includes the outings on our Sarasota mainland weekend map, the dates to plan around are Friday, Nov. 6 for the ribbon-cutting and Thursday, Nov. 12 for the banjo music.
The river east of Venice is part of daily life on the Sarasota mainland, and so is knowing which places are open in a given week. If you are thinking about a home within an easy drive of the Myakka, or would like a local read on the Sarasota mainland, Jane Ebury Sinclair would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a free consultation, and we can start with the parts of the county you already enjoy.
