Support Beachcomber Trading Post Recovery

Our family-owned and operated small business, Beachcomber Trading Post Restaurant, started as just a food trailer, which still serves as our kitchen and has helped us grow into a casual dining restaurant located on Manasota Key with amazing views of Lemon Bay. We offer indoor and outdoor seating. The Trading Post is truly a community gathering place where people come to share stories, catch up with each other, and make new friends while having a bite to eat under our gumbo limbo tree.

The Trading Post was busy and preparing for our 2025 Winter Season. You could feel the excitement in the air and then… Hurricane Helene hit on September 26th. The Beachcomber Trading Post Restaurant building was mighty, and we withstood Hurricane Helene’s waters and winds, leaving behind a mess of sludge, debris, destroyed equipment, and food spoilage. Helene set us back with her destruction, but hopes weren’t lost with the support of our Beachcomber family, friends, and our very special community.

Together as a team, we made a quick recovery. We cleaned the Trading Post top to bottom, bought new equipment, did some minor repairs, and were scheduled to reopen for business on Tuesday, October 8th. Unfortunately, we received news of the impending Hurricane Milton in our area and had to switch gears to pack up the Beachcomber Trading Post building and patio area. The main concern was to figure out a safe spot for our food trailer with new equipment just being installed after Helene. We evacuated our ‘peaceful little paradise’ and took our food trailer to a safe place and waited.

Hurricane Milton hit Manasota Key as a Category 3, wreaking havoc and causing significant damage to homes and businesses on our beautiful island only 13 days after Hurricane Helene. The Beachcomber Trading Post Restaurant building was mighty and withstood once again Hurricane Milton’s waters of 6-12 ft. and extreme winds. Now the Trading Post is facing another cleanup, loss of equipment, and many other crucial items critical for day-to-day operations and dampened dreams of planned improvements.

Hopes are high at the Beachcomber Trading Post. We, as the owners, Pete, Carol, and Katie, and our Beachcomber Team are ready to get back to serving our community and ready to see the smiling faces of our patrons.

My husband, Pete, daughter, Katie, and I remain strong, with our own home being uninhabitable after these two hurricanes. The financial burden is overwhelming as we work to reopen and restore the Beachcomber Trading Post, and this time we are in need of help.

So many friends, family, and patrons have asked how to help, and this is where we lean on you for support. Any donation, no matter the size, will help to get the Beachcomber Trading Post up and running and stronger than ever. The funds raised will go directly towards electrical restoration, water heaters, coolers, freezers, refrigerators, furnishings, and daily inventory items. Help us restore the place where our community and visitors gather, catch up, and make new friends.

All donations made will help to reopen the Beachcomber Trading Post, but we are also offering a few exclusive opportunities for higher donations. If you choose to gift a higher-level donation, please reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram to ensure we have your contact information.

$1,000 Donation - 6 AVAILABLE

Family's Last Name or Hometown on the Beachcomber Trading Post Tiki Directional Sign

$1,500 Donation - 8 AVAILABLE

Name an Adirondack Chair - Chair Plaque

$2,000 Donation - 8 AVAILABLE

Name a Surfboard Table - Table Plaque

Please Note: This does not guarantee you a seat in the restaurant OR a seat in your named chair OR at your named table. However, this is our way of saying thank you for all of your support!

With our deepest gratitude,

Pete, Carol, Katie & the Beachcomber Family