BRADENTON BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge #2188 has a new kitchen that’s open for business for members and guests.
Located in Bradenton Beach, the Moose Lodge’s new kitchen features a 6-foot indoor grill, four convection ovens, a large flat-top grill, a new fryer, a 10-burner gas range, a broiler and a new concrete floor that replaced the old wooden floor.
The new kitchen opened on Wednesday, May 12, and business has been brisk.
“It’s been non-stop,” chef and kitchen manager Zack Machleit said.
“It’s definitely a state-of-the-art kitchen. We doubled the size of the grill and the flat-top, added a 105-pound. fryer and doubled the convection ovens. We can serve twice the amount of people in half the time,” he noted.
While the renovations took place, Machleit and his kitchen crew often worked outside in a makeshift grilling area that offered a limited menu.
“That was the longest 15 months of my life,” Machleit said of the renovation process and the wait for the new kitchen to open.
Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton is also pleased to have the kitchen open again.
“We have had the kitchen open for two weeks now and the response has been absolutely phenomenal. We have much more cooking space and the ability to feed people faster. It’s made it easier on our men who work in the kitchen. We have an upgraded menu and our members are happy,” Dalton said. “It’s a boost to the Moose economy. We’ve got our waitresses working again, the bartenders are busy and people are coming back again. It’s amazing what a new kitchen can do.”
The kitchen renovations coincided with the Moose shutting down in early 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dalton said the plan was to tear the old kitchen apart and have a new kitchen ready to go when the lodge reopened, but the project encountered some unanticipated delays along the way.
“A special thanks to WMFR Fire Marshall Rodney Kwiatkowski and Bradenton Beach Building Official Steve Gilbert. They were great to work with and they made suggestions that helped us get this done right,” Dalton said.
In addition to the regular menu, the Moose Lodge #2188 kitchen also offers daily specials that include Reuben sandwiches on Monday, pizza on Wednesday and a prime rib dinner on Friday. Plans are also in the works for a Sunday brunch that’s expected to start in early June.
The AMI Moose Lodge kitchen is open from noon until 8 p.m. daily, and the lodge is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. You can view the upgraded AMI Moose Lodge menu at the lodge’s new website.
