The self-proclaimed classiest dive bar on Fort Myers Beach is back.
Smokin’ Oyster Brewery (SOB), one of the most popular hangouts on Fort Myers Beach for more than 25 years, has reopened after being hit hard by Hurricane Ian more than two years ago.
“I’m honored to be part of what SOB is and what SOB was,” new operating partner Hank Leitnaker said. “It’s exciting to have it back open.”
And, oh, was this open-air restaurant on the corner of Old San Carlos Boulevard and Third Street missed.
“When we were under construction, groups of five or six would come by every day and ask when we would reopen,” Leitnaker said. “They would say how much they loved this place, how it was their first stop when they came to the beach.”
Bill Freeman bought SOB in 1999 and ran it until Ian struck.
Leitnaker joined Wahoo Willies and Snug Harbor owners Nick Ruland and Peter Ennis and bought the business last summer.
“If you asked me what my dream job was years ago, I would have said to own a restaurant on Fort Myers Beach,” said Leitnaker, a seventh-generation farmer from Ohio who graduated from culinary school. “My father passed in September, and I met (Nick and Pete) in November. This came up and it’s been just great.”