Sarasota waterfront bar reopens after storms

Greg Corvelle, regional director of food and beverage for O'Leary's Tiki Bar & Grill, jokes the downtown Sarasota restaurant should have sold tickets for the many patrons who gathered along the waterside of Sarasota Bay to see a boat wrecked on the dock by the monstrous winds of Hurricane Milton get hauled away.

By coincidence, removal day fell on O'Leary's official reopening after the storms. The watering hole opened its doors at 11 a.m. May 2, heralding a new chapter in its history since the first grand opening in the 1980s.

The bayside restaurant has idyllic views of Sarasota Bay from its sandy shore, and Lana Jackson, general manager for the past five years, shares how she focused on expanding and fortifying the restaurant for the future.