FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT
MYERS, Fla. (August 29, 2002) –
Starting this weekend, a family oriented concession and gift shop called Flip
Flops Café will be opening at Bowditch Point Regional Park on the northern tip
of Estero Island (Fort Myers Beach).
The building housing the
operation is adjacent to the restrooms at the entrance to the park and formerly
was used for storage. Flip Flops
Café will use half the building and operate a novelties and rental shop in the
other half. The operator, Brian
Wetzel, has a five-year contract with Lee County Parks & Recreation to run
the facility.
While the concession will be
open this weekend, the official grand opening is Monday (Sep. 2).
Hours are from sunrise to sunset.
Flip Flops will have an
outdoor seating area with a tropical motif of paintings, wood carvings and
crafts by local artists. In
addition to prepared food, it also will sell “grill packages” for visitors
who want to use the park’s grills to prepare their own meals.
Items
to be sold at the café and gift shop include: Hamburgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, chips, candy, soft drinks, coffee,
breakfast sandwiches, ice cream, charcoal, uncooked food for grilling, sand
toys, t-shirts, jewelry, bait, ice, fishing supplies, sunscreen, souvenirs and
cameras.
Items
for rent include: Beach chairs, kayaks, games (bean bags, horseshoes), fishing
poles, rafts and umbrellas.
Flip Flops also will promote
special functions such as weddings and birthday parties.
The 17-acre beach park on the
north end of Estero Island fronts both the bay and the Gulf and opened in 1994. Facilities at the park include restrooms, showers, changing
rooms, picnic tables and grills, and a boardwalk to the beach.
In early 2001, the county built 68 public parking spaces at the park to
promote easier access and greater use. Park
hours are from 7 a.m. to a half-hour past sunset.
The parking fee is 75-cents an hour.
Lee County’s Parks &
Recreation Department maintains and operates 3,500 acres of developed park land,
14 centers, 9 pools, five boat ramps, three Gulf beach parks, one lakefront
beach, 76 beach accesses, 60 tennis courts, 73 ballfields, and 13 preserves.
The department also manages the more than 7,500 acres of environmentally
sensitive lands the county has purchased in the last five years through its
Conservation 2020 Program. Its
fiscal year 2002 operating budget is $16.2 million.