COCOA BEACH, Fla. — For Debbie Riddle and Jean Lang, lunch at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier is a relaxing part of their vacation from Michigan.
“Just being able to go out on the pier and be able to have a meal is something,” said Riddle, 70. “It’s nice just to relax and watch the water. ... I had crab and shrimp dip.”
The friends are repeat visitors to Cocoa Beach and plan to come back, meaning they’ll likely return to an improved version of the pier with new dining options on their next visit.
Behind them from their spot on the beach Tuesday, construction crews worked on a $3.5 million project that is culminating with four new food and drink spots opening by the end of February.
“I thought it needed to be revamped,” said Lang, 65, who ate a grouper sandwich for lunch. “I thought it was kind of a little bit run down, but, of course, you’re on the ocean.”
The makeover is well underway with a new souvenir shop already open at the front of the pier, which was originally built in 1962. On Tuesday, a crane worked in the background of sunbathing vacationers and children playing in the sand.
Orlando-based Westgate Resorts, which has owned the pier since 2014, is billing the project as the attraction’s biggest enhancement in more than 40 years.
“Post-COVID, the cruise industry is resurging again, which is fantastic,” said Jared Saft, chief business officer for Westgate, in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “There’s never been more demand for beach experiences and kind of outdoor experiences than there is right now.”
The pier is less than five miles from Port Canaveral, where December cruise revenue was $19.3 million, with nearly 700,000 passengers. There were only 300,000 passengers in December 2021 when the pandemic was surging.
The transformation includes relocating The Pier Shop to a new store near the pier’s entrance. It opened in December and is selling more than 50 Cocoa Beach T-shirts, Saft said.
A new slate of restaurants is on the horizon, with the goal of having them open by the end of February.
Pier 62 Oceanfront Restaurant & Bar, named after the year of the pier’s opening, will be an upscale option with fresh seafood, a sushi bar and sake on the menu. It will have an indoor/outdoor bar with roll-up windows.
The restaurant will take over the space that used to house Pelican’s Bar & Grill, the only business going away, Saft said. The popular Rikki Tiki Tavern at the end of the pier isn’t expected to go anywhere.
Three grab-and-go eateries will also join the lineup. Saft said the company heard from beachgoers that they didn’t want to sit in a restaurant but instead wanted to return to the sand.
Ohana Subs will offer beachgoers made-to-order sandwiches.
Chip Wrecked will serve up loaded kettle-cooked chip bowls with toppings, including Mexican street corn or Italian chicken Alfredo.
Ocean Freeze Daiquiri Bar will offer nine frozen drinks, including margarita and piña colada concoctions.
“You need your sandwiches, you need your snacks, and you need your alcohol,” Saft said. “As part of that, we’re adding a whole new set of stairs down the middle of the pier so guests don’t have to walk all the way to the front.”
The work also adds five private restrooms for families to change with their kids before driving home after a day at the beach.
Saft said the goal is to give visitors an authentic Sunshine State experience.
“While we’re renovating and elevating the experience, I think we’re staying true to that kind of Florida vibe,” he said.
Or as Mary Tait, 70, a vacationer from Virginia, described the pier: “It’s a beachy thing to do.”
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