Gabby Reeder
“Ah, it looks beautiful. It’s really exciting. It looks ten times better than it did,” Randy Coffman, caretaker of the Merry Pier Dock and Bait shop, located at 801 Pass-a-Grille Way, said. “Getting a new dock, that just takes so much worry off of you. It’s gonna be nice having this beautiful, new thing to showcase down there.”
The iconic Merry Pier became a Pass-a-Grille staple when it opened in 1902, but after 120 years, it needed a facelift. Renovation started on Sept. 20 and wrapped on Jan. 28, with a grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Feb. 10 at 11 a.m.
According to a press release from the City of St. Pete Beach, The Merry Pier has “a new main pier, new decking, new pilings, structural pile jackets (for the pilings under the building) as well as new electrical, plumbing, and lighting. The pier is almost a completely new structure except for three finger piers that were new prior to the start of the project.”
Colleen Bouchard, the owner of Shell Key Shuttle, stepped in to share her thoughts about the redesigned pier.
“It was really in need of some reconstructions, so it was a bit of a hardship to be off the dock for about four months, but we’re really happy to be back on and it’s beautiful,” Bouchard said, sharing that Shell Key Shuttle returned to the dock the day construction ended.
Amateur fishermen and seasoned anglers alike fish off the pier.
“I’ll tell you what, it really has turned it into a destination.” Coffman said he meets visitors from Europe and all 50 states at the Merry Pier.
In addition to visitors, Coffman chats with the locals. He told The Gabber the day construction wrapped up he saw “30 locals fishing on the dock already, trying to get the first fish.”
To enjoy the reopening festivities, head over to 801 Pass-a-Grille Way on Feb. 10 at 11 a.m.
