I can almost see the nostalgic bubble lights dutifully lined along the walls, reflecting reds and greens in the silky orange frosting on a slice of crunch cake.
The iconic Bubble Room is on the cusp of reopening for the first time since Hurricane Ian washed through on Sept. 28, 2022, and we can’t wait.
“We’re trying really hard for mid-May,” said Rachel Peach, general manager at the Captiva gem for 22 years. “We’re very close.”
One of the last hurdles was installing the new hoods and fire alarm panels.
“Now that the sub permits are released, we can close up the rest of the ceiling,” Peach said. “The county has been great working with us to get reopened.”
It certainly has been a long road back.
Overcoming three hurricanes
If Ian wasn’t bad enough, Hurricanes Helene and Milton came along in late September and early October of 2024 to force more delays.
“Water was three feet higher with Helene and Milton (than it was with Ian),” Peach said. “We had just put some of the wood back. A lot needed to be replaced.”
The Bubble Room on Captiva is still working its way back from hurricane damage.
An expected late 2024 opening was pushed back until sometime between March 1 and April 30.
That would have been impressive considering the restaurant didn’t have permanent power until January — a full 854 days after Ian.
“It was so hot working in here before that,” Peach said. “We could only be inside for so long, then have to go out.”
Boops By The Bubble Room and The Bubble Room Emporium managed to open in the meantime. The former sells the restaurant’s famed cakes from that most popular Orange Crunch to red velvet, White Christmas and more, while the latter offers antiques, merchandise, gifts and, of course, bubble lights.
Boops By The Bubble Room sells wildly popular cakes, from orange crunch to Key lime, on Captiva.
“We’re still doing the baking at Great White (Grill on Sanibel),” Peach said. “It’ll be nice to get our kitchen back.”
Despite all the damage, Peach said not much will be done differently the next time a hurricane rolls around.
“The first floor has a concrete bumper and foam inside the walls,” she said. “Pretty much going forward, we will shut the gift shop as soon as they say hurricane. Then the restaurants will close and then Boops. We have to get the antiques out — some of them are priceless. Then we do the whole prep. We move everything out of the first floor. It all gets moved to the upper floors. It’s not much different than what we did for Ian.”
Work on the restaurant is moving along
The Bubble Room on Captiva has been a local and visitor favorite for decades.
Now progress is being made by leaps and bounds on The Bubble Room.
Antique toys line shelves, string lights adorn the walls, fish glide around tanks in the Nemo (aka 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) room and those bubble lights glow proudly among it all.
“Mickey is back too,” Peach said, referring to a giant stuffed Mickey Mouse suspended from high above in one of the first dining rooms you come across.
That memorabilia — much of it from old Hollywood — eclectically mixed with its famed Christmas decor, has made The Bubble Room an island favorite with locals and visitors for decades.
It’s Christmas 365 days a year inside the The Bubble Room on Captiva.
With three floors and room after room of lights, trains, antiques, photos and more, it’s a herculean task to redo it just how it was.
That’s nearly impossible, no?
The same Bubble Room we love
“We’ve worked so hard getting it like it was,” Peach said. “It’s the exact same carpet (only new). We saved most of the antiques and the majority of the stuff is going back in the exact same spot.”
Only the most loyal customers will see the subtle changes, Peach added.
Work is still being done on the Yellow Brick Road winding along the front of The Bubble Room.
There have been a few obvious upgrades, including moving the servers’ station and coffee station out of one of the dining rooms.
“It’s more open in there now,” Peach said. “We raised a ceiling and did other small stuff we’ve wanted to do for years. Most people won’t notice.”
The menu will be familiar too.
More: When will The Mucky Duck reopen? The latest on this waterfront gem
“We’ll roll out the same one we had before Ian, but with a few changes,” Peach said. “The menu was in a really good place when we closed. We want to make it as easy as possible for our staff when we open back up. We will release our new menu in September.”
A good amount of the 93 pre-Ian staff members will be back, and interviews for new hires are just beginning.
And before you know it, they’ll be serving prime rib, those cakes, Bubble Bread and other popular menu items to eager customers sitting in new booths and on new chairs in their favorite rooms.
Flood-damaged items line the street outside The Bubble Room on Captiva Island on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, after damage from Hurricane Ian.
“I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions when they come in,” Peach said. “It looks so great. We’re grateful we have such a loyal following and so much support. It’s the same Bubble Room everyone loved.”
Like we’ve been saying for the past 940-plus days, we can’t wait.
Follow the Bubble Room — at 15001 Captiva Drive, Captiva — on Facebook for updates.
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane-battered Bubble Room is oh-so-close to reopening on Captiva