Snook Haven County Park & Restaurant, which hosted the Gulf Coast Banjo Society since 1987, is now undergoing a thorough renovation that will take at least a year. The Banjo Society, which has met each Thursday at Snook Haven from October through May, celebrated one last fling on April 24 before groundbreaking for new construction began on May 8.
During renovation, the Gulf Coast Banjo Society will meet at the Englewood Elks’ Lodge, 401 N. Indiana Ave., Englewood, Florida. According to society president John Wolfe, “The Elks Lodge features a comfortable, air-conditioned venue, with a tasty menu from their kitchen, and a full bar.”
Snook Haven opened in 1958. In a story published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on May 10, 2025, Earle Kimel writes, “Eight days after the closing of Snook Haven, the iconic piece of Old Florida ‘Smack Dab on the Myakka River,’ Sarasota County officials gathered to launch the popular destination’s $8.75 million successor.
“A ceremonial dirt mound with ‘Sarasota County’ painted on the side was piled in front of 10 shovels with hard hats perched atop their handles in front of the 1958 restaurant that will be torn down to make way for a new food concession building, covered seating deck and bandshell.
“Picnic tables previously located between the restaurant and bandshell and steps away from the Myakka River were already cleared away, replaced by a VIP tent for the May 8 ceremony…”
Upon completion, “The sit-down restaurant will be replaced with a food concession building and a covered seating deck. Both of those facilities and the bandshell will be built farther inland than the current restaurant, to make them more resilient, with the covered deck affording the best view of the Myakka.
“Portions of Snook Haven frequently flooded. Most recently after Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Myakka River rose to the point that the park was under four feet of water.
“The new bandshell, County Commission Chairman Joe Neunder added, will honor the Gulf Coast Banjo Society, which has performed on Thursdays at Snook Haven since 1988. ‘This new structure will honor their legacy and celebrate the essential role live music plays here at Snook Haven,’ Neuder said.”
The Banjo Society shows will be moved to Englewood Elks’ Lodge for the period of Snook Haven’s closure, and possibly longer.
Andy Senior is the Publisher of The Syncopated Times and on occasion he still gets out a Radiola! podcast for our listening pleasure.
