HOLMES BEACH, Fla. — Minnie’s Beach Café has been serving breakfast and lunch in Holmes Beach for decades, but the small restaurant has struggled in recent years. Owners Kathy Smart and Mary Doub faced the possibility of having to close their doors but instead made a plea to their community.
Smart set up a GoFundMe and their regulars responded, quickly surpassed the $20,000 goal they need to get caught up with their finances.
“The donations started coming in and it was like, ‘Oh, my God, they really want us here,” Doub said. “It made us feel like we are important to them.”
They couldn’t imagine not having Minnie’s.
“It’s not just about income or anything like that. It’s my life and this people,” Doub said chocking back tears.
In less than a week, that GoFundMe has raised more than $25,000, enabling Minnie’s to stay open for now.
The cafe has struggled in the last several years because of the pandemic, rising food costs, construction, and, most recently, Smart’s medical issues.
“We have a lot of really loyal customers,” Smart said. “Even the people from out of state, they come every single year. So we know them, we know their children, we know their grandchildren, we know their children’s children. You know, we kinda get to be a family.”
The café has been feeding people on the island since the 1970s. Smart and Doub have worked there for 26 years, the first five years working for the previous owners. They went on to buy the restaurant with another couple, and when that couple wanted to retire 10 years ago, the ladies bought them out.
Today, there aren’t as many locals living on the island anymore, but those that remain have been supportive and continue to come in, Smart said.
“I think it’s just because they have been coming for so many years. The staff has been the same for so many years. They see the same faces and we catch them up on Facebook what’s going on.”
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
