Old Florida Living

What defines the term Old Florida to you? To us, it’s about a feeling, about a sense of nostalgia. It’s about the kind of place whose charm lacks pretense and whose environs disregard progress. The kind of place where one can “stop a while” and feel—at least for a little bit— as though the world outside doesn’t exist and isn’t an estuary rushing too quickly into an open ocean that feels … unpredictable, at best.

Just south of us in Venice, Florida, down an honest-to-goodness dirt road, on the banks of the Myakka River, there’s a time capsule of a restaurant called Snook Haven that perfectly evokes this elusive emotion. And, by this time next year, it’ll be history.

Snook Haven has a storied, some might say “colorful,” origin story that begins around the 1920s with Prohibition and smugglers and moonshine, and then bumps along its tree-canopied dirt road through the action-packed 1930s as the exotic muse of various B-movie film scouts. Anyone remember Tarzan’s Revenge? The current incarnation as a restaurant serving the public can be traced to the ’80s, when it was touted as a fishing camp with a boat ramp and a cook shack.

Did you know that Florida has only two officially designated “wild and scenic rivers”—one of which is the Myakka? In 2006 Sarasota County purchased the property and added it to the county parks system. In 2013 the Venice Pier Group (owners of Sharky’s on the Pier and Fins at Sharky’s) took over management of the restaurant and that brings us to today. (Or, rather, that’s the timeline as described in the “About” section of the Snook Haven website.)

Here’s the next chapter, which can’t be found by visiting the website: Snook Haven is set to be demolished in April of 2024 to make way for park improvements. Will they be building a high-rise condo and ignoring the wild beauty of the land? Thankfully, no. There will be a new restaurant and new pathways and new playgrounds but respect for the natural surroundings will prevail. Will Snook Haven ever be the same? Unfortunately, no. The fact of the matter is that this charming Old Florida landmark is, like all of us, on borrowed time. Time that will soon come to an end.

This story isn’t about the evils of progress or the wrath of Mother Nature. We will tell you that Snook Haven took a beating during Hurricane Ian and when you visit the restaurant you can see the line on the wall that shows that the dining room was once three to four feet underwater. Venice Pier Group took it upon themselves to pay to repair and restore the restaurant, even though they knew that it would still be torn down.

This story is about the opportunity for closure and the pleasure of revisiting “the good old days.” Thanks to the eff orts of the Venice Pier Group, we have been presented with one of life’s rare gifts: the opportunity to say good-bye. You have a year—use it wisely. Go get some of South Florida’s best smoked chicken wings, fried green tomatoes, and gator bites. Go listen to live music on a sunny day on the banks of the Myakka River. Gather your family and go take a boat tour. We’ll see you there.

> Snook Haven: 5000 E Venice Ave, Venice; 941-485-7221; snookhaven.com