Sandy Hook, a must visit on Pine Island, FL

The life and times of Sandy Hook Fish and Rib House, now Yucatan Waterfront Bar & Grill. 

Interesting how time flies, especially when you've been around the Pine Island area for a while and watched how it has grown.

40 years!  Not many restaurants in Southwest Florida can claim a great track record of entertaining and making patrons happy, but Sandy Hook Fish and Rib House can.

Let's first go back to 1978 when Sandy Hook opened as the Sandy Hook Crab House.  A retired dentist, responsible for the name of Sandy Hook, personally carved the Totem poles out front and painted most of the art on the walls.  Sandy Hook was known as a supper club back then and the then owner, Jean Kuznar, would play piano and sing to her restaurant patrons as they gobbled down their Pine Island fresh catch.

The Hook has many other interesting tidbits behind its doors including real ship portholes, a compass on the end of an Eddie gun, antique paintings, brass antique cash register at the entrance and an ole crank phone sitting in a corner that if cranked still works, amongst many other curiosities inside and out.

The Kuznar's decided to sell the restaurant in 1981 to two gentlemen who owned it for just under a decade.  During this same decade,  Rich and Bev Lauber who owned Mariner's Inn in North Fort Myers frequented Sandy Hook and fell in love with the place, eventually buying a home in Saint James City, then finally settled into Matlacha.  They told the gentlemen if they ever decided to sell, that they'd like to be first in line.

In 1989, the Lauber's dream of owning Sandy Hook came true as they were approached by the gentlemen for the sale and now this is where the Hook blossomed along with a young girl, Nicole who at the time was a hard working teen.

Ms Nicole's first images of Sandy Hook were "BROWN", everything "brown" and she really didn't take a liking to the color, so her first impression was: "I don't care to go back".

Further to this family story, her parents said she would be going back, because they just bought the place and that she'd be working there starting Tuesday in which she begrudgingly agreed because she respected her parents and would do almost anything for them.

The first night working at Sandy Hook, Nicole came home and told her parents that she never wanted to go back to Mariner's Inn and wanted to stay at Sandy Hook and work.  She loved Sandy Hook- the view, the people and the feeling of the Pine Island community.

Needless to say, Nicole had an impact at a very young age.  Rich and Bev painted the walls white and got rid of the brown. This is when they discovered amazing art by the original owner of The Hook which you couldn't see with the brown background. Nicole's father painstakingly painted around them and touched them up many times to keep them in good condition throughout the years that followed.

Nicole went off on her own for a little while attending college and working for a restaurant supply company, but eventually asked her parents if she could return and run the restaurant, being she felt the restaurant and the island was really in her blood.

Nicole took over management of the restaurant in 1997 while Mom did books and Dad did maintenance and over saw the kitchen.

To this day, this amazing family has kept a staff with some working for the family for 35 years and others 20 years. Nicole says, "staff treat the business like it's part of a family.  They are our backbone."

She continues, "We've celebrated many first dates, marriage proposals, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and celebrations with our customers and I feel so unbelievably fortunate to be a part of it all.  Blowing the ships horn is a highlight for patrons when these things happen, they actually can't wait for it."

Now, the Hook has been recently sold but will still continue to operate "as is" for now.

If you'd like to enjoy watching the Ospreys (seahawks) and Pelicans eat their fresh catches over a beautiful view of the water in an old Florida setting, this is the place!

Sandy Hook Fish and Rib House is a must when on Pine Island for dinner.  Hours are Tuesday thru Saturday 4pm to 9pm and Sunday they open early 12noon to 8pm.  They are the very last stop in Matlacha and the very first stop before you make your journey onto the big island, Pine Island at 4875 Pine Island Rd, Matalcha, Florida.

-⚓written by Jennifer Russell, resident of Pine Island for 19 years and key contributor to "Things to DO on Pine Island"!

Pine Island, Florida

Did you know there are (2) Pine Islands in the State of Florida?

Many don't know this, but there is a Pine Island located in Hernando County and then there's another Pine Island in Lee County, which is the largest island in the state of Florida.  Both islands are on the West Coast, the Gulf of Mexico side, where the water is warmer.

Pine Island, FL (Lee County)

Pine Island, FL (Hernando County)

For the sake of this article, we'll be exposing the larger island of the two, Pine Island in Lee County, Florida which is further South than the other.

First, a small geography lesson. Pine Island itself is 18 miles long and 2 miles wide and nestled within a group of smaller islands that surround it - truly a water lover's paradise.

The mainland of Cape Coral/Ft Myers is the Metro area of Southwest Florida in which Pine Island belongs and Matlacha, on West Island is the gateway to Pine Island which is accessible by bridges.



There are 3 small villages on Pine Island that are fairly different from one another.  "Bokeelia", at its north end on the Charlotte Harbor side is lush and includes most of the island's agriculture.



"Pineland", facing West to Pine Island Sound has great historical significance with the Calusa Indians, archaeology and the historic, Tarpon Lodge. 






Finally, there's the most populated "Saint James City" on the South end of the island with more than a few restaurants, shops, a spa, marina and more recreational activities.






Not to confuse readers, but there is one other community. It doesn't have its own zip code.  It's technically Bokeelia, but the locals call it "The Center" which is around the 4 way stop at the "center" of the island and it has more shops, restaurants, the island's only grocery store, a museum, community pool and park.

Although Pine Island is laid back, there are plenty of things to do.  Fishing is huge, but so are a host of other activities including kayaking, paddle boarding, boating, hiking, biking, birding, golfing, tiki pub crawling with live entertainment,  and excursions to the very near outer islands that feature some of the best beaches in the US.











If you have your own boat, you won't get bored as there really is so much to explore.  If you don't have your own boat, no worries as the island does have taxi/ferry service to the outer Island's of which the most recognized is Tropic Star Cruises.

Calusa Heritage Trail

Preserves, parks, trails and nature walks on the island are plentiful. One of the reasons for this is that islanders really care about preserving the character of what coastal areas looked like in the old days.  The island has no real beaches which helps in keeping development down and there are active organizations that continually buy land to preserve for future generations, so the island stays naturally pristine and looking like olde Florida for years to come.


Housing on Pine Island is low key, meaning there are no high rises at all.  Condos on Pine island are only 2 stories tall and a lot of the single family homes are eclectic being major developers or one size fits all builders have not trounced on the island's character as of yet for the most part.

active listing on Pine Island in Bokeelia

All said, Island life is not Florida life and Florida life is not Island life.  For those choosing the island lifestyle, there's a bit of heaven in that choice, but there's also much responsibility in keeping the attitude positive and the island as pristine as it can be.

-written by Jennifer Russell, Pine Island Resident of 19 years and key contributor to "Things to DO on Pine Island".