Up Alligator Creek With No Regrets

As a reporter on scene to cover most Fort Myers Offshore events this season, which began in October 2024, there’s no way I’d miss this weekend’s grand finale. From the Junkanoo Below Deck restaurant in Fort Myers Beach to the three Fishermen eatery in North Fort Myers, each of club’s Saturday lunch destinations offers a different, decidedly chill vibe.

Second, the destination for the final event of the Fort Myers Offshore 2024/2024 season, the Riviera Bar And Grill in Punta Gorda is the chilliest of them all. Located up Alligator Creek, the place is dripping with old-school Southwest Florida charm.

For the record, I just enjoy—probably a bit too much for a grown man—writing “up Alligator Creek.” Seems like it should be bad place, as the expression goes, to be stuck, regardless of direction.

But it’s not. It’s downright cool.

Guided by his decisive wife, Cyndee, club president Tim Hill “discovered” the Riviera venue a couple of years ago. The nonprofit scholarship fundraising outfit has been growing steadily under the Hills leadership. That’s good news for bringing in scholarship contributions, of course, but challenging for organizers looking for venues that can accommodate larger groups.

From the start, the restaurant’s owners welcomed the group. Fort Myers Offshore members prefer being able to order from a menu rather than eat from a set buffet, and the Riviera Bar and Grill accommodated that preference. The staff works its ass off, and most Fort Myers Offshore members are in no hurry to eat and leave. So whatever time-saving benefits might be gained from going buffet style would be lost on their audience.

“The Riviera Bar and Grill is the unofficial-official headquarters of Fort Myers Offshore,” Hill said, then laughed, at the end of last year’s event.

At least one Fort Myers Offshore fan was delighted to hear it, and can’t wait to get back—Matt Trulio

COMMENTS

Source: https://www.powerboatnation.com/up-alligator-creek-with-no-regrets/