Businesses luring back locals on Sanibel

The sounds of summer are ringing through Sanibel. If you look around, the island has a different look from last year.

It’s the good kind of different.

“Right now, we really need the support of the locals. Especially after Hurricane Ian,” said Stephanie Stallbomb with Adventures in Paradise.

The kind of difference that comes with open signs.

“Over 80% of our restaurants and retail shops are reopened. That’s great news,” said John Lai with the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce. “The downside of that is only 25%, roughly, of our hotel rooms are reopened.”

“Some people are like, ‘Oh my God, I thought they’d be more open,’ and people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, there is so much open,'” said the owner of Island Pizza, Melissa Donahu.

Redeveloped and ready, these are the faces of the businesses who are pulling out all the stops to get in the door for the off-season.

“It was nice to see tourists start to come back. Obviously, there’s a lack of accommodations on the island,” said Donahu.

“It’s a trickle down to the whole economy, the economy here,” said Davidson. “And I think in the last few months, and in the upcoming months, we’ve seen a lot more properties open back up.”

Whether it’s a day trip to the beach with a stop for pizza or a weekend stay at the Shell Museum, businesses want locals to come for a visit.

The Summer of San-Cap campaign by the Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce will run until August.

During this campaign, some participating businesses on the island may be running special deals.

You check out what’s open and ready for your summer plans by using the Wander app.