Ka'Tiki's New Owners Vow Not to Bulldoze Paradise
A few months' back I posted Ka'Tiki for Sale: Is the Sun About to Set on Another Favorite Beach Bar? The post was about one of my favorite Sunset Beach bars, up for sale.
It has been sold!
I got this great e-mail from Paul Wille:
Hello Gene my name is Paul Wille and I'm emailing you in response to a blog post from last year. I am part of the group that has purchased the Ka'Tiki bar in Sunset Beach.
We will take over operations at Ka'Tiki on June 25th, 2012. We are a family-run group that runs a successful restaurant in the Feather Sound area, we also have various other businesses in the mid-west.
I would like to assure you, as we did the previous owners, that Ka'Tiki will remain OPEN for many years to come. I can promise you we are not a giant developer with plans to demolish Ka'Tiki with grand visions to erect condos or retail along Sunset Beach.
We fell in love with the atmosphere, live music and all of the charms that Ka'tiki has to offer. We are very excited to begin the next chapter for Ka'Tiki and look forward to the interactions and suggestions from those that have supported Ka'Tiki throughout its many years.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions you might have. I very much look forward to meeting you in person at your favorite Ka'Tiki bar stool sometime in the near future!
Sincerely,
Paul Wille
Paul also has a great e-mail address: pwille@gmail.com. Drop him a note.
If you have never been to Ka'Tiki you really need to check this place out. Located at 8801 Gulf Boulevard St. Pete Beach, FL 33706. Turn toward Sunset Beach it's on your left and the parking is FREE.
Best drinks on the beach.
It is old Florida at its best. Every evening is great but Sunday and Monday evenings are really special and if you get the right Bar stool you have a great sunset view.
Paul and his group got a wet welcome to Sunset Beach with Debby being the guest of honor.
Ka'Tiki, ever resilient, is just fine so drop by soon.
e-mail Paul at: pewille@gmail.com
e-mail Doc at dr.webb@verizon.net , send me a Facebook Friend request or let's meet at KA'TIKI
Paul Wille
10:21 am on Friday, July 13, 2012
Doc you left one letter off my email. Any one with questions or suggestions for Ka'Tiki can reach Paul Wille at: pewille@gmail.com Thank you very much for the post.
William Mansell
10:46 am on Friday, July 13, 2012
Thanks, Paul. We have corrected it in the post.
S. Ripley
12:51 pm on Friday, July 13, 2012
Paul-
Please, please don't redevelop this site. There are so few “original” places left, especially on the beach. An example is what happened to the Hurricane on Pass-a-grille many years back: a terrific local hangout with great food turned into a multi-story mess with mediocre product/service that now attracts only naive tourists (and usually only once). Having said that, I realize this is an investment- and that you’d like to make the most of it… let’s just hope you can do that and still keep the charm.
Juju Stevens
1:55 pm on Sunday, July 15, 2012
We were there the first day of new ownership; it was AWESOME. Their manager is great; we spoke with him about Dan playing music there again. They are honoring the existing music commitments for the next 2 months and all around it's all good.