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Mike and Donna Pachota, with their son Justin and daughter-in-law Cheri, are the new concessionaires at Snook Haven, which reopened last week. (Photo by Dale White)
Bikers rumbling down River Road want to know.
Snowbirds pulling off I-75 want to know.
Boaters cruising along the Myakka River want to know.
“Is it open?” they shout over to the Snook Haven restaurant. If they ask between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., then the answer is “Yes.”
After being closed for more than six months, Snook Haven has reopened for lunch, for now. The next step is a license to sell beer and wine. Then opening for dinner, too.
Fans of the place are making the long drive down a dusty road to a bend in the river.
“It looks about the same — I like that,” says Barbara Portz of Venice. “I don’t want it to change. It’s a great place back here. I like Old Florida.”
Sarasota County still owns 2.5 acres of land for Snook Haven Park along the Myakka River. There are canoe and kayak rentals, along with river boat tours.
The new owners of the restaurant concession are the Pachota family of Venice. Mike Pachota and his 32-year-old son, Justin, have run Sharky’s on the Pier at Brohard Beach. Now they’re moving inland.
“One of our slogans at Sharky’s was ‘Smack dab on the beach,’” Justin says. “We’re calling this ‘Smack dab on the river.’”
He and his wife, Cherie, will manage the restaurant. They met when both of them worked at a restaurant chain called Smokey Bones. Barbecue is a focus of the new Snook Haven, with pulled pork, beef brisket and smoked chicken on the menu.
“We installed a smoker out here,” Pachota says. “We’re actually smoking all our own food. I think even the veggie wrap is smoked right now.”
When Snook Haven gets its beer license, he plans to offer brands such as Yeungling, Amber Bock and Cigar City. He’s trying find a supplier of alligator meat so the restaurant can serve the gator bites people remember from the old place.
“We knew as soon as we opened, we’d have people coming in,” Pachota says. “We probably had 100 on the first day."
Elayne Sweet took her granddaughters to lunch at Snook Haven last week. She had a sandwich platter, while the girls ate mac-and-cheese off the children’s menu.
She’s ready for the return of bluegrass music on Thursdays.
“The banjo playing was out of this world,” Sweet says. “I was there for that, a really nice afternoon.”
Portz looks forward to the Snook Haven scene of lively weekends on the Myakka.
“It’s a mix of bikers, resort people — and us, I think we’re in the mix,” she says, laughing. “This spot on Sundays, it was an event. We’d bring friends here to experience it.”
I know it will never be the same, but I hope you can/will make it close. I know it would be packed every weekend... good luck, I will deff come check it out. after you get the beer in.. lol
You're not saying, are you, that the Pachota family will move FROM Sharky's on the Pier? They're ADDING Snook Haven to their portfolio, yes? At least that's what I hope you're saying, because that would be FANTASTIC NEWS! My family loves Sharky's and we love Thursday Bluegrass at Snook Haven. This new management at Snook is terrific news.