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VOL 26 No. 16
January 14, 2026
Mote Marine’s City Pier lease terminated The future use of the city-owned pier building will be determined in the coming months. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN REPORTER | jhendricks@amisun.com
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Mote Marine occupied the larger City Pier building on the right.
SEE MOTE MARINE, PAGE 12
Slicker’s Eatery saying farewell The transition from Slicker’s Eatery to Izzy’s Place begins Feb. 2
Planning board discusses Bungalow Beach parking restrictions The resort owner will seek city commission approval on Feb. 5.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN REPORTER | jhendricks@amisun.com
CORTEZ – Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker is winding down his restaurant operations and the leased space he currently occupies will soon be transformed into Izzy’s Place, a family diner operated by new leaseholder Tom Theophilopoulos. During separate interviews given on Thursday, Jan. 8, Slicker and Theophilopoulos discussed the upcoming transition. Slicker’s Eatery will continue operating under Slicker’s leadership through the conclusion of a catered event on Sunday, Feb. 1. Theophilopoulos will take over the following day and the gradual transformation from Slicker’s Eatery to Izzy’s Place will begin. “We’ve been on a month-to-month lease, our rent increased, and with all of the health issues I had last year, and
ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria and the Sarasota-based Mote Marine Laboratory mutually agreed to terminate the lease agreement that allowed Mote’s Marine Education, Science & Outreach Center to operate rent-free on the City Pier before the pier walkway was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in October 2024. City commissioners unanimously approved the lease termination on Thursday, Jan. 8. Featuring a touch tank containing live marine life and other live and virtual educational exhibits, the pier-based Mote facility opened in May 2023 and occupied the larger of the two city-owned
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN REPORTER | llake@amisun.com
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker looks forward to his next step in life. having another grandchild I would like to visit, we have decided it is in our best interest to not continue our lease,” Slicker said. “I am retiring from the restaurant business. I’m going to take a little time to get closer to my grandchildren, and myself, and I’m going to let my faith lead me which way I should go.
SEE SLICKERS, PAGE 8
BRADENTON BEACH – After much discussion about allowable parking uses at the Bungalow Beach Resort, the planning and zoning board, on Jan. 7, recommended approval of a major development application for a two-story, 15-guest room hotel to be built at 2000 and 2104 Gulf Drive N. Architect John Garra, speaking on behalf of resort owner Gayle Luper, addressed concerns about City Planner Luis Serna’s recommendation to restrict parking at the resort. “There was one other section in the staff’s comments that I believe is more stringent than the city’s land development
"MURDER BY MISADVENTURE" opened last week. 5
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
A model of the proposed Bungalow Beach hotel project was displayed at the Jan. 7 planning and zoning board hearing. code (LDC) and it’s related to parking,” Garra said, “It’s very limiting to what it says the parking can be used for. The way it was written excludes vendors and guests from parking in the parking lot, which is more restrictive than the LDC.”
SEE BUNGALOW BEACH, PAGE 11
DOG PARK discussions continue. 4 WHY DO mullet jump? 18
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