Longboat's winter season back in black after seeing red

There's something in the air in Longboat Key, and it's not red tide. 

It's the hum of the tourist and winter-resident season.

By many accounts from town leaders, shopkeepers, restauranteurs and lodging operators, a season that might have started its full swing a bit later than usual after 2018's outbreak of karenia brevis is back on track heading into spring and a later-than-normal Easter. A spate of brutally cold and snowy weather across the Midwest and Northeast in January might have helped bring seasonal business back into shape.

“It started later this year for us, around Christmas Eve,” said Lisa Nichols, who has owned the Backyard Bike Shop at 5610 Gulf of Mexico Drive for 19 years. “But, it has been building since. We are getting a lot of return customers.”

 Nichols said her business, which rents about 350 bicycles, got through a sparse summer and early autumn not by relying on tourists seeking a two-wheeled rental ride but rather local residents seeking something else.

“Repairs kept us going,”  said Nichols, adding that August was particularly rough. “Christmas Eve, it was quieter than crickets.”

Traditionally, Longboat Key's prime season for visitors lifts off in the weeks around Thanksgiving and begins climbing steadily through March before beginning to slow into April. With Easter on April 21 (it was April 1 last year), the typical fall-off of business and traffic might come a couple weeks later than normal. Throughout the town, businesses dependent on seasonal dollars for an oversized chunk of their annual income said red tide surprisingly has not affected their bottom line at the midway point of season. They say they are ahead of last year’s sales figures.

And state environmental monitors haven't recorded red tide concentrations on local beaches for weeks.

“I was afraid people would be scared to come, but I am just as busy as I was last year,” said Shane Catts, the owner of Happy Paddler Kayak Tours & EcoVentures. During last summer’s dog days when red tide was at its worst, Catts said he had to dip into his savings, adding he had to deal with a lot of misinformation about red tide and its effects, calling it "staggering."

“I expect some growth from last year,” he said. “The island is buzzing with activity.”

Gail Loefgren, president of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, said she likes what she's seeing on roadways, sidewalks and in local businesses.

“We are recovering from red tide, and that is a blessing,” she said. The Chamber in the fall surveyed its 300 chamber members to gauge the red tide effects on their balance sheets. Ninety-six who responded said between Aug. 1 to Oct. 2, they experienced a cumulative loss of $3.16 million in revenue. Without similar metrics for the mid-and late winter, she said indications are that season is as strong as ever.

“And the traffic is back,” Loefgren said.

Using encounters with the Longboat Key Police Department as a guide, Loefgren is correct. 

Local officers in January wrote 17 traffic tickets and issued 62 warnings to motorists. Compared to 2018,  that's a 21.4% increase in January citations and a 106% increase in warnings. Police were called for service 459 times in January and 320 in December, again indicating a climb in local population -- both full-time and seasonal.

Typically, Longboat Key's year-round population of about 8,000 and climbs to near 20,000 at the peak of the season. 

 “This season started later,” Chief Pete Cumming said. “We’re still seeing a flow of traffic. It’s a bit later than usual.”

The island’s small hotels and large resorts are seeing more visitors compared to last season, they report anecdotally.

Jeff Mayers, general manager of the Resort at Longboat Key, said his operation counts on repeat business year-over-year, and those customers are arriving again -- both newly returning guests and faithful customers.

“We have a lot of people who return,” he said of the four-star rated resort with 218 rooms and suites.

It was the same story at the Wicker Inn, an 11-suite boutique hotel at 5581 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

“We’re completely full and above last year,” said Peg Pluto, Wicker Inn manager. “We had a very good January.”

Lynn Christensen, owner of Harry’s Continental Kitchens, an island mainstay for 40 years, said business is strong. She said she thinks her business might have peaked in the last week or so -- a far cry from earlier in the season.

“Our fine dining probably felt it the most,” she said of her business's restaurant and more casual deli. “When the rooms are not being rented, then the restaurant seats aren’t being filled.”