JENSEN BEACH — Sand Dune Café is gone, now mainly a pile of wood at Jensen Beach Park, where it operated for more than 40 years. Martin County plans a new café to replace it, and design is to begin soon.
“After serving the Jensen Beach community for over 40 wonderful years, the beloved Sand Dune Café has officially begun its next chapter," County Commissioner Eileen Vargas said by email.
The county-owned Sand Dune Café, which was damaged by fire early on New Year's Day, is to be rebuilt and possibly renamed Sea Turtle Beach Café. The replacement is expected to cost about $4 million,
"While we bid farewell to a local treasure filled with decades of memories, we are incredibly excited about what’s to come," she said. "A brand-new, bright and sunny café will soon rise in its place — bringing a fresh new energy to the heart of Jensen Beach."
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The new cafe's name will be revealed soon, Vargas said.
"This is an asset," Kevin Abbate, Martin County Parks and Recreation director, said Tuesday, referring to the café as a excavator lifted and moved what was left of it.
About a half-million people visit Jensen Beach Park each year, he said.
Demolition started Monday and is expected to be complete Friday at a cost of $42,000, he said. Martin County was already preparing to replace the cafe, he said. That fact and the fire prompted the decision to tear it down, he said.
The new cafe will need County Commission approval, which may be discussed April 22.
Cafe details
The new cafe is expected to be built high on stilts, higher than the previous one so beachgoers and people who just want to have breakfast or lunch there can see the ocean, Abbate said. It will be similar to Seaside Cafe at Stuart Beach, which attracts people just for the food and view, he said.
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The new cafe is expected to have about 100 seats and be built on the same footprint as Sand Dune Cafe, which was 8,750 square feet. Thirty to 40 seats will be at the bar with an ocean view.
"Our goal is to just put back an amazing asset for everyone to enjoy," Abbate said. "People love, really enjoy having breakfast on the ocean and watching the sunrise."
The goal, Abbate said, is to start construction in October 2026 and open nine to 12 months later. The project has five funding sources, he said. Insurance proceeds from the fire and profit from Seaside Cafe are two, he said, and will provide $1 million toward the new cafe.
Cafe revenue
Seaside Cafe is generating about $1.6 million a year and turning a $300,000 profit, Abbate said.
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Before the demolition, Sand Dune Cafe was typically taking in $300,000 annually and just breaking even at best, he said. But traffic at Jensen Beach Park, he said, is double that of Stuart Beach.
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It makes sense to rebuild Sand Dune Cafe, he said.
"Everyone that I've talked wants to see it come back," Abbate said. "You see it gone, you're like, 'Oh my God.'"
Keith Burbank is TCPalm's watchdog reporter covering Martin County. He can be reached at [email protected] and at 720-288-6882.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sand Dune Cafe demolished at Jensen Beach Park, likely to be rebuilt