No-limit Texas hold ’em draws big crowd at Bonita dog track

No limit Texas hold ’em player Jeremy Gianfagna, 22, of Estero, left, plays against Bill McCrone of Naples at the Naples-Fort Myers Dog Track poker room.

The game is no-limit Texas hold ’em.

The venue is the Naples-Fort Myers Dog Track in Bonita Springs.

And, poker players are filing in to play the game.

“We’ve been trying to do this for years. It’s the players that want it,” said Cindy Fra, the poker room manager at the dog track. “They are playing what they want to play and no-limit poker is what they want.”

Giving players no-limit poker is finally possible because of July 1 legislation that now allows increased betting limits on gambling.

“Everybody is pretty happy with it,” said Bill McCrone of Naples, a poker player who has been visiting the dog track three to four times a week for more than six years. “There are a lot more options.”

Poker is bringing big crowds, unlike the other games offered in the card room.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Fra said.” We have had 50 times more players than before.”

Fra said players who have traveled the world to play poker can now find high-stakes games in their hometown.

“When they came here before, it was a way to pass the time, it wasn’t really poker,” she said. “This is poker.”

Fra manages the room from noon to 10 p.m. and said she’s beefed up security to deal with the surge of new players.

They also offer a security escort if players win the big pot and want protection back to their cars.

These big-time poker players expect more, which is why Fra and her staff are replacing carpets, tabletop mats, security cameras and chairs.

A new snack bar menu has already been implemented.

“It’s good. Really comfortable and not too crowded,” said Ricky Ryals, 27, of Fort Myers, of the dog track’s poker room, which he visits every once in a while.

Ryals said he likes the room, but is there for poker.

“It’s good for the guys because this now gives them more tournament practice,” Ryals said. “Guys have been playing for a while, can do a lot here.”

Fra hopes more players will join Ryals, as word gets out that the dog track has no-limit gambling.

“It takes more skill because there is a lot more money involved,” Fra said. “Everything is higher limits and we are seeing a lot of new players and faces.”

Grille partners want to please customer

Paul “Head Hobbit” Mandell takes orders from behind the counter at The Hobbit Grille in Bonita Springs.

The Hobbit Grille is taking orders and the two guys who run the place are willing to do anything to avoid turning a customer’s request down.

Tom Schillig and Paul “Head Hobbit” Mandell bought the restaurant that was once Uncle G’s Deli just south of Bonita Beach Road on Old 41 in early April.

“I always wanted a sub shop and the name hobbit has always been on my mind for it,” said Schillig who named the restaurant based on another shop he used to visit on trips to see his sister at her university.

The name, Schillig said, has nothing to do with the “Lord of the Rings” movies and he’d prefer people think of the shop in terms of good eats and a nice atmosphere.

“We know what people want and what to cook,” said Schillig about the shop that sells sandwiches, salads, and Danish barbecue. “Paul is an excellent chef and I like to cook and always loved food.”

Schillig’s love of food and his eight-year friendship with Mandell led them to open a shop where customers could get the best cuts of meats and food. Mandell is a gold level certified in Angus beef.

“Today is our best day ever,” said Mandell fellow members of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce recently during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the restaurant.

The best day included plenty of customers buying meats, meals and delivery items.

“We focus on the customer and the product and we know it will grow,” said Mandell about the upcoming summer that they hope they will be able to survive until season starts.

Mandell and Schillig are also hoping that the restaurant becomes a place that people turn to for lunch provisions and catering.

“I have a deal worked out and customers will receive meats cheaper than Publix,” said Mandell who offers fresh meats, fresh baked bread daily and can arrange for a 5-star delivery service with metal tins.

“Pretty much we don’t say ‘no’ and we have yet to do that,” he said.

The guys are so focused on the customers that they keep two full-time employees on staff and decorated the shop with movie memorabilia.

“We are needed in Bonita Springs and we are growing ... we are strong,” Mandell said. “We are really about making people happy. We want to be that nice, respectable, clean neighborhood spot.”

Bonita Chamber surveys its membership

The Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce is measuring the pulse of the small business community.

The chamber sent out more than 1,500 surveys recently to figure out what concerns local business owners during a sluggish economy and problems with affordable housing and health care.

“Our intention is to trend some of the impact in the community,” said Nancy Keefer, the chamber’s president. “The results are relative to what's on people’s minds at the time.”

And, members were able to provide opinions on questions about workforce needs, growth issues, law enforcement and business conditions.

“The questions we narrowed down to issues that affect businesses and the topics that continually rise to the top that need attention,” said Keefer about the survey that was put together by a chamber committee. “We do this at the same time of the year with the exact same questions to get good trends.”

The trends the chamber is seeing are what Doug Congress said are good indicators of where the economy is going.

“It’s great because we can get a feel for what’s going on in the local economy directly from small business owners,” said Congress, the chairman of the board.

“I think that message is very consistent that ‘times are tough right now’ and I’d be surprised if I saw the survey come out differently.”

The survey, which is due back from members on July 9, is showing numbers consistent with tough economic times.

“Certainly from last year to this year, we saw a bit of a change in economic conditions,” said Keefer, who received more than 100 surveys back from members within the first hour. “Last year we saw a bit of conservatism in growth patterns and this year we anticipate to see a little more because of the economy.”

The economy, said Keefer, is something businesses seem to be adjusting to all the time.

“We usually have a 15 to 18 percent response rate which is pretty good in relation to the survey,” said Keefer. “What has always impressed me about the business community is that they take the time to provide a lot of comments.”

The comments they provide are left in open ended questions in the survey, which is filled out online.

The results of the survey will be compiled in mid-July and shared with the city, law enforcement officials and even the school board who gets mentioned in a few questions.

Once results come in, the chamber might also re-evaluate the survey questions for next year based on what trends they see this year.

“The economy has changed here so we may turn and focus the survey to get a little more in depth to see what is really going on,” Keefer said. “We committed three years to get results, now that we will have them. We will keep doing a lot of outreach. We aren’t working in a vacuum.”

Holiday starts with parades, ends with fireworks

This story was co-written as the lead story for a package about the upcoming July 4th holiday.

By Alejandra Diaz and Chelsea J. Samuel

South Lee County residents will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate Independence Day this year.

They can start their day with parades in Bonita Springs or San Carlos Park and end it with fireworks on Fort Myers Beach, in Bonita Springs or Naples, and find plenty of other activities to fill the time in between.

Parades
Dana Hoenie, a firefighter, is planning Bonita Spring’s July Fourth parade that will roll pass patrons at Riverside Park along Old 41.

“It’s the same ol’ parade. A lot of people like to show up and have fun,” Hoenie said about the parade with hundreds of local participants who walk, run or create floats for attendees to see.

“We are going to have our first swamp buggy ever coming from Naples in the parade, too,” he said.

The parade will start at 9 a.m. And Turtle Time’s Eve Haverfield will be the Grand Marshall.

Leading the parade will be a new fire chief, Phil Kinsey, who is replacing veteran fire chief Dan Gourley, Hoenie said.

The 16th annual San Carlos Park parade begins at 8:30 a.m. at Sunshine Ace Hardware on U.S. 41.

This year marks the parade’s 16th year in the community, but the first year the San Carlos Park Civic Association has taken over parade planning.

Lee County Parks and Recreation had planned the parade before, but decided not to continue the parade now that operations have moved from Karl Drews Community Center to the Estero Community Park.

“Everybody expects the parade to be there on the Fourth,” said Mark Fedigan, president of the Civic Association. “We said we would take it.”

Bonnie Jasper, a San Carlos Park resident and Parks and Rec employee, has been planning the parade on her own time.

“I’ve been in it since day one,” she said.

She said it’s been hectic trying to run the teen camp at the park and plan the parade at the same time, but said it’s important for the community to have their parade.

“It brings the community together,” she said.

The Kiesel family has been marching in the parade for several years, said Colette Kiesel.

“We enjoy building the float as a family,” she said.

Her son Bobby, 16, designs the float, and he and his sister Collette, 15, ride on it with their friends.

“We like being part of the community,” Colette Kiesel said.

Parties
A party at Three Oaks Community Park will follow the parade, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bonita Springs will also host a party after their parade.

“The party in the park will start immediately following the parade,” said Arleen Houston, the special events and park coordinator with the city.

Houston, with the help of a committee led by George Gahanem, spent the last six months securing contracts and events. “We will have old-fashioned relay races for the kids and a water slide,” she said.

The kids activities are just part of the fun that day. Houston said that community organizations have also been asked to participate and connect with the community.
“The organizations will be out there giving out information,” she said.

A pie contest that pits the best cooks in the area against each other is scheduled for judging at 10:30 a.m.

The slices will later be sold for $2 a piece to raise money for the Zonta Club of Bonita Springs.

A hot dog eating contest is also scheduled along with musical entertainment including Bob Leary’s New Orleans Dixieland Quartet.

The party ends at 1 p.m.

Reading
The Estero Historical Society will observe the day in a more traditional way.

They’ll gather at 11:30 a.m. in the picnic area at Koreshan State Historic Site to read the Declaration of Independence, which was signed on this day, 231 years ago.

Last year, about 50 people showed up to read, said society president Mary Ann Weenen, including several children and teenagers.

“We were really thrilled about that,” she said.

She said she hopes more people will come this year. It takes about an hour to read the document, which will be printed on pamphlets for people to read.

“People last year seemed to really enjoy it,” she said.

Fireworks
Thomas Jefferson may not have watched fireworks on the original Independence Day, but there are plenty of options for modern celebrants.

If you can’t wait until Wednesday — or can’t stay up that late after a full day of events — head to Miromar Outlets on Tuesday for their fireworks show.

The festivities will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. They’ll also have a sidewalk sale all day on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Joanne Semmer, who’s on the fireworks team for Fort Myers Beach, said they’ll start shooting sparks off the public pier between 9 and 9:15 p.m., depending on darkness.
She said it takes about six months to plan the event and get city, county and state permits in place.

Bonita Springs will host a fireworks show at the Village Center Palmira Golf & Country Club.

“Last year we had about 3,000 people attend and it went well,” said Houston, adding that there will be parking available behind the Exxon Mobil gas station near the Bernwood Park of Commerce just south of I-75 on Bonita Beach Road.

A free shuttle service will take patrons from the parking lot to Palmira. Music will be provided as well from 92.5 FM and food and beverages can be enjoyed.

The fireworks will be launched at dusk. Patrons are asked to bring blankets and beach chairs to sit on.

Bonita Spring’s party and fireworks events were paid for by sponsors and the city’s events budget of $50,000.

Businesses look forward to the Fourth

This was written as part of a Independence Day package for the weekly.

Independence Day is a good reason to take a vacation, skip cooking and visit local businesses willing to cater to your everyday needs.

“It’s a time to be with family and be away from the house,” said Colleen Brady, manager of Vincenzo's on the Bay.

Brady, along with local businesses in Bonita Springs and Estero, is hoping the Fourth of July — which this year falls on a Wednesday — ends up bringing with it a big payout.

“This is big business for us because everybody is on vacation and they tend to eat more,” said Brady whose expecting to serve an additional 40 to 60 dinners throughout the week.

The same is what Kelly Olsen at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Estero is hoping to see as taxis and buses drop vacationers off.

“It will be pretty busy based on last year,” said Olsen who is the hotel’s spokesperson.
“Our business if pretty steady but we are looking to pull in a good week.”

The good week will come as a result of vacationers taking off days prior to the holiday and the following days as well.

“The Fourth of July is always a long weekend. ... We will have a lot more people,” said Olsen about the hotel that is expecting more people including a lot of families.
“This is the slower season for us, as it is with most hotels, but we will have a steady week.”

Heavenly Scent Flowers in Bonita Springs is also expecting a solid week because they will be doing a lot of behind the scenes work in preparation for the city of Bonita Springs celebrations.

“In reality the Fourth of July isn’t a big holiday like Mother’s Day but we are excited about it,” said Susie Sayger, who will spend most of her time working prior to the holiday.

Sayger and her staff will be helping parade participants with floats and decorating the Riverside Park band shell.

“We will be closed that day because the parade route runs in front of our shop but its going to be an exciting day for us,” Sayger said.

“It’s more a family holiday with the floats, parades and things. It’s an excuse for us to have a day off ... have fun.”

Dixie moon cafe opens after explosion

This story is a follow-up to the original story that was published in the daily newspaper the day after it occurred. This update was written for online and the weekly.


The Dixie Moon Cafe on Dean Street and Old 41 was left with synged walls and in need of a paint job.


Chase Walker, Dixie Moon Cafe manager, stands in the kitchen of the restaurant that was the scene of a propane explosion that left one man injured.

The Dixie Moon Cafe reopened June 23 following a propane explosion that left one man injured and the store forced to put up a “Sorry we’re closed” sign.

Thankfully though, the “We’re open” sign is back up and so is the business that has been owned by Tim Robinson for 10 years.

The accident left the shop closed for 2 1/2 days.

“It’s really just repairs,” Robinson said after having to replace some plumbing, gas lines and paint to cover up the singed walls caused by the blast.

And he was lucky, he said, about the blast and fire that could have killed patrons, a waitress and a member of this kitchen staff.

“There was just heat from the fire but no real damage,” said Chase Walker, 22, the restaurant’s manager.

His biggest concern following the accident was having to throw away up to 5 pounds of food because of a lack of power.

“It could have been worse had the truck exploded but we can’t express enough how fast (firefighters) got here ... controlled the fire,” Walker said.

The 80-year-old historic building would have been closed for good, said Robinson, who was told by officials that had the fire burned another 30 seconds “there would be nothing left,” he said.

“We escaped by a hair,” said Robinson’s wife Christine.

“It identifies how strong you are as a business owner,” she said, referring to a September incident in which a waitress accidentally crashed her car through the front of the building.

Since then the restaurant has also had two break-ins.

“It’s been an emotional wringer,” Tim Robinson said.

But he has confidence that the building will continue to survive despite its string of bad luck.

“It made it through (hurricane) Charley, Wilma and it had power. There is an integrity with this building,” he said. “... this old building just takes a lickin’ and keeps on ticking.”