The Hot Pepper said:
I used to get a blackened mahi sandwich on the CB pier that was spot on...
And a place in the port upstairs had good seafood sammies fresh off the boat.
When were you there last boss? It had been going down hill for years and really became more of a place for cheap drinks and really bad service around 2012. It was bought by Wesgate Resorts and starting last year the began a renovation project and are putting around 4 million into it. Here's what the Florida Today had to say:
"
Step one in the Cocoa Beach Pier's upgrades was sprucing up and repairing the complex to bring it back to its former glory.
"Now, it's clean and it's fresh," Waltrip said.
That includes new bathrooms that replaced the bathrooms that were one of Cocoa Beach Pier's biggest minuses with families.
"You used to have to hold your breath" when you went into the bathroom, Waltrip said. "Families wouldn't go there."
With the cleanliness and repair issues tackled, Waltrip said Westgate is working on upgrading the pier's restaurants and retail operations.
Among the restaurant developments:
•Addition of executive chef Amanda Davenport, former "Hell's Kitchen" contestant and Brevard County resident, to the pier's culinary and beverage team. She oversaw new menu development, including a focus on fresh, local fish.
•Renovation of Boardwalk Bar and Restaurant, Keith's Oyster Bar (formerly O'Shucks), Pelican's Restaurant and Sea Dogs, including upgraded menus, interior design and finishes.
•Converting Pelican's to Drafts Sports Bar and Grill, an ongoing process. Drafts will feature floor-to-ceiling windows to enhance the beach and ocean views, high-definition televisions and a large selection of craft beers.
•Converting the former Atlantic Grill to a fine-dining seafood restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows and a dance floor. Completion is scheduled for late spring.
Waltrip said retail upgrades are in the works as well. The new owners renovated the Trader Rick's Marketplace and created a beachside retail outlet with new products and services, such as beach chair, umbrella and surfboard rentals.
New retailers will be added in the coming months, Waltrip said, including both concepts developed by Westgate and existing Brevard County-based businesses that will expand their operations to the pier.
There also will be a private beach club planned for the pier that will include a swimming pool and shower facilities for beach-goers arriving at the pier on bus tours from the Westgate resorts or from Port Canaveral.
The new sign that was installed Tuesday costs $70,000, Waltrip said. It mimics the design of the pier's original sign, and is sea-blue, red and yellow, with white lettering.
"It's not a typical project for us. It's a personal thing," Waltrip said, noting the Westgate's owners and their family members have many connections to the Cocoa Beach area.
Waltrip said sales at the Cocoa Beach Pier restaurants, retailers and parking lots are up a total of 30 percent, compared with a year ago."
So next time you're in the area you should go back and check it out again.
Jeff H said:
Wind chill advisory for 25 degrees?!?
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
They're lucky they didn't close the roads & schools.
Man, with cold weather it doesn't take much to get them to start closing and shutting down.
smokemaster said:
I'm sucking these days-aren't picking pods as fast as they ripen....
I still have 1/3rd of my plants with ripe pods on them.
I'm now cutting branches off to harvest the pods.
NEVER grow mostly Frutescense.
A gazillion pods per plant sucks!
Yeah, but you'll be glad you have them while it's cold out and you can get anything fresh off the plants