The bait shop at Merry Pier is still empty. Visit Pass-a-Grille lists the pier as "Temporarily Closed," and the little building that used to sell bait, rent bicycles and sell fresh fish has been dark since the 2024 storms. At their Oct. 13 meeting, St. Pete Beach commissioners approved a contract to rebuild it.
That vote follows a pattern now visible across the southern tip of the island. The places coming back in Pass-a-Grille are mostly old buildings. Some were saved on purpose. Others got new tenants who moved into existing rooms instead of building fresh. Two years after Helene and Milton, the new arrivals are filling spaces the old ones left.
An $80,138 Decision About a 123-Year-Old Shack
The Merry Pier timeline shows how much effort goes into keeping a small building.
In January, Bay News 9 reported that commissioners voted unanimously to restore the 123-year-old structure instead of tearing it down. The city set aside more than $144,000, but leaders asked staff to come back with a smaller plan to bring costs down.
By April, the city manager's weekly operational report said the lessee, Merry Pier Partners, had been issued a notice to vacate, and staff were preparing a request for proposals to find a new lessee. In early September, the same weekly report listed the Merry Pier docks among the larger projects city crews were coordinating with contractors.
Then came the October vote. According to The Gabber, commissioners approved an $80,138 design-build contract for the bait shack after earlier bids reportedly came in between $170,000 and $180,000. The project is expected to take about six months, including roughly 90 days of construction, and the contract carries a $500-a-day penalty for finishing late. Counting from the Oct. 13 vote, that schedule points to spring 2027.
The final contract is less than half the low end of those earlier bids and well under the more than $144,000 the city set aside in January. The city spent most of 2026 finding a version of the shack it could afford.
Next door, Colleen Bouchard of Shell Key Shuttle told Bay News 9 that fewer people had been walking onto the dock since the shop closed. She put the case for rebuilding simply.
"It's just going to bring more people down to the docks," she said. "There are people who've lived in Pass-a-Grille for years and still don't know what's going on down there."
The Seahorse Was Saved by Paperwork Before Carpenters
Half a mile of Pass-a-Grille Way away, the Seahorse Restaurant at 800 Pass-a-Grille Way shows the same pattern from the private side.
Creative Loafing Tampa reported that Helene washed out the 88-year-old building. Without its 2024 historic designation, the restaurant would have been required to tear the building down or raise it. The designation kept the old building eligible for repair. Owner Anayeri Gomez and her team spent nearly 18 months rebuilding, and the Seahorse reopened on Feb. 6, 2026.
"We were able to recreate everything and put it back together the way we remember it," Gomez told Bay News 9.
Creative Loafing describes it as a brunch spot known for its classic breakfast menu, and once a popular stop for World War II soldiers.
New Names, Familiar Addresses
The truly new arrivals follow the same rule. They are moving into buildings that were already there.
Moon by Malio's opened Thursday, Oct. 8, at 109 Eighth Avenue, inside the Berkeley Beach Club, in the space the Dewey occupied before the storms. The Dewey did not reopen. The Tampa Bay Times describes a coastal Mediterranean seafood concept that owners Derek and Jen Iavarone call Malio's little sister, a way to show off Derek's family heritage and how the family eats at home.
The details are specific. Corrie Dietrich, executive chef of all Malio's concepts, runs the kitchen, and Dina Kuchkuda is the sommelier. The menu includes seafood towers with an optional caviar service, stuffed squash blossoms, handmade tagliolini and ravioli, and Snapper Scottato al Limone with artichokes, capers, fennel and lemon brodo.
The rooftop is what's new to Pass-a-Grille. It looks out over the Gulf to the west and the Pass-a-Grille Channel to the east. Moon plans full-moon parties, and for now the rooftop is open only to guests with reservations. "We want people to feel at home," Jen Iavarone told the Times.
A bit north at 6300 Gulf Boulevard, the former Postcard Inn reopened June 11, 2026, as The Luce after nearly two years of renovation. It has 200 remodeled rooms and Marriott Tribute Portfolio branding. The building itself is about 70 years old. Creative Loafing reported a 1970s-inspired redesign with a new lobby bar and restaurant called Sundrop. A separate outdoor bar, The Baby Turtle Beach Club, was described as coming "soon" as of June.
Here is the southern end of the island, building by building:
| Place | Address | The building | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seahorse Restaurant | 800 Pass-a-Grille Way | 88 years old, historically designated in 2024 | Reopened Feb. 6, 2026 |
| Moon by Malio's | 109 Eighth Avenue | Former Dewey space, Berkeley Beach Club | Opened Oct. 8, 2026 |
| The Luce | 6300 Gulf Boulevard | About 70 years old, formerly Postcard Inn | Reopened June 11, 2026 |
| Merry Pier bait shack | Merry Pier | 123 years old, leased out by the city | $80,138 rebuild approved Oct. 13, 2026 |
The City Is Making the Same Choice With Its Own Buildings
The Oct. 13 meeting covered more than the bait shack. Public Services Director Camden Mills gave commissioners an update on the city's own storm repairs. According to The Gabber, the Warren Webster building was about 90% complete, the Don Vista Suntan Art Center about 95%, and the Recreation Complex about 70%, with crews expecting to finish it in December.
The bill is large and arrives slowly. As of that meeting, St. Pete Beach expected about $8.5 million from FEMA for hurricane damage. It had received $6.6 million, and FEMA had approved another $1.9 million that had not yet been paid. FEMA had approved 54 of the city's 70 submitted projects and was still reviewing the other 16. "I do anticipate this recovery process, FEMA public assistance, is gonna take several years," Mills told commissioners.
Two of the streets that matter most down here are still unresolved. The city is appealing FEMA's decisions on Gulf Way and Pass-a-Grille Way, and staff are also pursuing federal highway emergency relief funds for road repair. Those two roads link the Seahorse, the Eighth Avenue blocks and Merry Pier.
Against that backdrop, an $80,138 bait shack is a small line item. The city chose to spend it on a 123-year-old building that a fishing pier could have done without. Like the Seahorse, it was kept because the community decided it was worth keeping.
The Season, Week by Week
The bait shack is still months from done, and Corey Avenue has filled the late-fall calendar. These are the dates on the books as this post goes live:
- Corey Avenue Sunday Market. Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the October-to-May season. The listing runs from Oct. 25, 2026, to Sept. 26, 2027.
- Corey Avenue Sip & Stroll. Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m., with another on Nov. 27, same hours.
- Corey Avenue Veterans Day Celebration. Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 9 p.m., with live music, family activities, shopping and dining on a two-block street closure.
- Shop Small Saturday. Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., free.
- Corey Avenue Holiday Art & Craft Festival. Dec. 5 and 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, at 300 Corey Avenue, with free admission.
- Holiday Boat Parade. Friday, Dec. 18. The city lists a 6 p.m. parade start and a 6 to 9 p.m. viewing party at Horan Park, 7701 Boca Ciega Drive.
Details for each are on the Corey Avenue events page and the City of St. Pete Beach boat parade notice. For Pass-a-Grille itself, the season looks like breakfast at the Seahorse, an evening on Moon's rooftop with a reservation, and a pier waiting on a bait shack with about 90 days of construction ahead of it. A $500-a-day penalty applies if the work runs late.
If you follow how Pass-a-Grille's older buildings get saved, rented and rebuilt, I'd enjoy talking about it with you, whether over coffee near Eighth Avenue or on the phone while the bait shack goes up. James Heeley works with people who care about the details of this island, and when the conversation turns to a home of your own, I'll give it the same attention. Let's Connect.
