Contractors are continuing to shape a new $8.75 million campus for south Sarasota County icon Snook Haven, with the new concession building and dining pavilion taking shape.
Sarasota County is still negotiating a contract with the future Snook Haven operator, a Sarasota County spokesperson said via email. Snook Haven — billed as “Smack Dab on the Myakka River” at 5000 E. Venice Ave., Venice — has been closed since April 30, 2025.
The SSA Group, a Denver, Colorado-based vendor that operates the food concession at a variety of attractions nationwide, including The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, is currently the front-runner to operate facilities at the 2.5-acre park considered an Old Florida landmark.
Once that contract is negotiated, it must still be approved by the Sarasota County Commission. The earliest it could appear before the board is the May 5 meeting.
The county has been targeting a grand reopening later this summer.
A total of three vendors, including longtime concession operator Venice Pier Group, applied to operate the park.
Sarasota County’s goal for the new facility — designed by BGE Engineering and subcontractor Sweet Sparkman Architects and built by Jon F. Swift Inc. — is to preserve the Old Florida charm of the original site.
How will Snook Haven be changed?
The biggest change involves replacing the sit-down restaurant, which was built in 1958 and flooded as the Myakka River rose, with a food concession building and a covered seating deck.
Both of those facilities and a new bandshell are being moved farther inland to make them more resilient, with the covered deck affording the best view of the Myakka.
Though the construction site is closed to the public, the Herald-Tribune did recently take a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility.
Currently, the construction site is fenced in, with vertical construction commencing on the concession building and the dining pavilion.
A new fishing pier is also being built.
One of the existing cabins is being remodeled to handle canoe/kayak rental with a public restroom.
How did Sarasota County acquire Snook Haven?
The riverfront parcel that became home to Snook Haven was first accessed in 1931, when a movie crew first cut a dirt road connecting River Road to the banks of the Myakka River for a film about a French Indochina prison colony.
Then, in 1936, a rich Michigander built a retirement house there.
Sarasota County still owns that historic structure, which is being elevated and not currently included in the park plan.
Snook Haven became a fishing camp in 1948 and the original restaurant structure was built in 1958.
Sarasota County purchased the historic property for $2.6 million from Sandy Alston in 2006 and made it a park.
Alston’s ex-husband bought Snook Haven at auction in 1988 for $400,000.
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.
Because of that flooding, Sarasota County extended the Venice Pier Group’s Snook Haven lease to give the company an opportunity to recoup funds spent to renovate that 1958 structure.
Construction on the new facility began last May.
Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota icon Snook Haven closed nearly a year. Here’s what’s next
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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