Anna Maria Island is a jewel. The roads and traffic, on a beautiful weekend day, however, can be a test in patience. Finding a parking spot can be even more of a test, perhaps, rather, a dissertation in the art of patience. But it’s worth it. Unlike many of Florida’s beautiful places, the island has managed to retain some of the Old Florida charm, including the kitschy tourist shops. It has, however, long since been discovered as the weekend traffic reveals.
Fortunately, for those of us with less patience or time, there is a way to visit the island without having to drive to it.
Anna Maria Oyster Bar, a locally-owned, Gulf Coast mainstay restaurant celebrating 20 years in business, has four locations with two in Bradenton, one in Ellenton and one, yes, on Anna Maria Island.
The Ellenton location, just off I-75 across the freeway from the outlet mall, is convenient for nearly anyone in the Tampa Bay area.
Despite its freeway and near-outlet mall location, it’s easy enough to lose yourself and relax a little. There is outdoor, waterfront dining…in the form of one of the nicest retention ponds I’ve ever seen. But it is the staff and the food that make it a welcome respite from a hard work week. Or to recover a little from the frantic storm preparations of a week ago.
In fact, it almost seemed like the brush with catastrophe from a historic hurricane never happened. Except for the stories, of course. Nearly everyone has stories. Our waitress, Vicki, only had her electricity restored a day prior. She said it was the longest week of her life. In a world of strangers, in that restaurant, we all had something in common.
Certainly at the Ellenton location, it’s not a college-age tourist trap. Children under 10 years of age pay only a penny an inch of height for their orders from the kid’s menu. While families lined up their children by the yardstick next to a wooden dolphin for measurement (one young girl was 34 inches, meaning her lunch would cost just 34 cents), the general population was decidedly older — a rare relief for a guy in his mid-50s, looking around and thinking, “Huh, I’m among the youngest of people here!”
No doubt the Bradenton locations, one just off U.S. 41 north of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and the Cortez Road location, and certainly Anna Maria Island, serve a different clientele but for a respite? For a quiet, relaxing Sunday lunch? It would be hard to beat Ellenton.
As a locally-owned establishment, the management of Anna Maria Oyster Bar invests back into the community. They live here, after all. In celebrating 20 years, each month an organization serving the community is chosen to receive donations from AMOB. Through September, it is Turning Points of Bradenton, a nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless men, women and children in Manatee County. Turning Points receives a portion of the proceeds whenever someone orders a Birthday Cake Cocktail or a Dos Equis beer. On September 20th, they will receive all of the proceeds from those beverages.
Further, anyone donating a package of new socks or new underwear to any of the restaurant locations will receive a free Portabello Mushroom Appetizer.
It was busy but no one was frantic. It was fun talking with Vicki, our genuinely friendly and outstanding waitress. The place had a good vibe. And the food was excellent.
We lingered a little before leaving the little piece of the island to return to our still-storm-packed home. Vicki stopped by to ask if we wanted sodas in a to-go cup. We hit the freeway and headed north.
There was no traffic.
For information about Anna Maria Oyster Bar visit www.oysterbar.net.