Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon reopens its doors to once again serve up some of the best eats around
As local businesses continue to build back from the destruction of Hurricane Ian, one Cape Coral staple recently reopened its doors to once again serve up some of the best eats around.
Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon officially welcomed customers back on Dec. 5, just in time to celebrate its whopping 24th anniversary at the Pine Island location.
Owner Jay Johnson said he’s thrilled to welcome back all, from familiar faces to first-time customers, after the longest pause in the restaurant’s history.
“It’s great to be back, and it’s great to welcome our regulars in, and people who have really enjoyed Bubba’s over the years,” Johnson said. “It was kind of weird being closed that long. But we were able to get back just before our anniversary milestone.”
Johnson said Bubba’s sustained minor damage throughout its building, but enough to keep them closed for more than two months. He said a lot of the reason it took the time it did was due to waiting on available tradesman to get the job(s) done.
The roof has been temporarily repaired, and the majority of the damage was sustained in the kitchen area, Johnson said.
When you walk in, you’re not going to see too many changes as far as the guests’ side,” he said. “But we did take the opportunity to repaint the ceilings, had the floor power-scrubbed, did some deep cleaning — those type of things. All of the damage and repair was done in the back of the house.”
Johnson dedicated much of his time post-disaster to helping other restaurant owners and staff in need. While keeping his staff in mind, Johnson participated in many opportunities to feed and raise money for workers in the area cleaning up after Ian. Now that Bubba’s is back in operation, he plans to continue assisting where he can, both within the restaurant and in his community.
For instance, he’s hired on 10 staff members of Bert’s Bar & Grill, a restaurant on Matlacha that was destroyed during the storm.
“That restaurant was blown out to sea during Ian,” Johnson said. “We’re happy that we were not only able to bring our employees back to work, but bring parts of Bert’s staff back to work.”
For the first month, new staff will wear shirts representing Bert’s, a location with 75 years of history in Southwest Florida.
“We want those employees to be recognized and let them know the community does care for them,” Johnson said. “It was a local favorite.”
Johnson’s father, Bernard Johnson, owns Bert’s, and said they are hopeful to start rebuilding at some point.
“We don’t know when that will be. There’s a lot of steps that need to be done out there,” Johnson said.
It can be tougher for local, independently-owned businesses to get back on their feet following a natural disaster. A major way the community can rally behind these establishments is to shop and eat locally.
“A lot of the smaller independent restaurants around town have larger hurdles to get through, because they don’t have the stacks of cash that a corporation may have,” Johnson said. “You take a large corporation, while it does have local people working in it, they do have the backing of a national chain that may have another hundred restaurants that are operating. As an independent, we’re in one location. We don’t have any money coming in from other restaurants or stores like the chains do. It makes it tougher on cash flow and tougher on getting back open.”
Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon is back to regular operation, seven-days-a-week, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. They have live entertainment regularly and karaoke nights.
Bubba’s Roadhouse and Saloon is located at 2121 Southwest Pine Island Road. For more information, visit www.bubbasroadhouse.net.
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