HOLMES BEACH – Some businesses have had a hard few years with a lot of it due to ongoing construction at and around their locations.
Businesses in the S&S Plaza on Gulf Drive and along Holmes Boulevard have faced construction woes for well over a year as city and Manatee County projects have obstructed the roads around several businesses.
The city center project to enhance the intersection at Gulf and Marina drives closed primary access to the S&S Plaza and the Island Shopping Center for several months while work was completed.
Prior to, during and after that project, the Manatee County force main replacement also closed access to businesses behind the Island Shopping Center along Holmes Boulevard and to the S&S Plaza, particularly the western section.
That smaller section is where Just 4 Fun Rentals, Minnie’s Beach Café, AMI Health and Fitness and Edibles N More are located. For part of the time during construction, Minnie’s co-owner, Kathy Smart, said that some days, her restaurant was inaccessible due to the ongoing construction, particularly the force main replacement project that took several months longer to complete than it was initially projected to take and resulted in sections of Holmes Boulevard being repeatedly torn up and repaved.
Sean Murphy, owner of The Doctor’s Office, a restaurant and bar, sent out newsletters during the construction encouraging patrons to visit the establishment, noting that it remained open during the roadway construction.
Construction on the city center project was completed in the fall of 2023 with construction on the force main project completed in spring 2024.
Though the roadway construction is done and all the entrances to businesses are open, currently all the businesses in both sides of the S&S Plaza are struggling with ongoing construction related to the facade of the buildings being updated. Despite ongoing construction on the facade, all the businesses are open with normal business hours.
One of those businesses, Minnie’s, recently made headlines when owners Smart and Mary Doub took to GoFundMe to ask the community for help. After suffering business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and long-term construction, the couple asked the public to help with needed funding to assist in saving the café. The community, including visitors and locals who love Minnie’s and its staff, exceeded the $20,000 fundraising goal in less than 48 hours with a total of $26,850 raised at press time for The Sun.
