Irma destroyed this Manatee sports bar. Now it's back and 'everything is new'

Ever since Joe and Sid Harris opened their sports bar 14 years ago, they had been fortunate when it came to hurricanes blowing through the area.

That luck ran out in September when Hurricane Irma came through and demolished Papa Joe's Sports Bar, 1242 Whitfield Ave., and every other business in the Whitfield Square plaza.

Joe Harris, who opened the business with his father Sid in 2004, said a tornado ripped the roof right off the building.

When Joe Harris first got the call about his building after the storm, he thought the person on the other line was kidding.

"Somebody called and told me that we had no roof and I kind of ignored it and thought they were lying or playing," he said.

He soon found out the news was no joke and alerted his dad, who had a similar reaction.

"My son called me and said, 'We've got no roof.' And I said, 'You've got to be kidding,' " Sid Harris said.

The damage, seen in pictures captured by Joe and Sid Harris, was devastating. After the roof was torn away, the insulation and wiring were ruined by the wind and the rain. The bar's interior was unrecognizable.

"We were destroyed. There's no other way to put it," Joe Harris said. "The roof came off and it rained in here for three days straight."

He said the first couple of weeks of being closed were a decent break from his everyday business, but as the months grew longer, he was itching to get back. But after $30,000 in improvements and nine months of rebuilding, Papa Joe's is open again.

"All the electric is new — all the cables. Everything is new," said Joe Harris, who also said he purchased new furniture, ceiling panels and about 20 new TVs, including a 100-inch projection screen. "I built this place with my hands. I never thought I'd have to build it again."

The plaza suffered about $750,000 in damage, but most of it was covered by insurance, Joe Harris said. On June 18, Papa Joe's became the first business in Whitfield Square to re-open, and Sid Harris couldn't be happier.

"It's great. I don't even know how to explain it," said Sid Harris, who explained that it was always his dream to open a sports bar with his son. "It's terrific. I used to be here every single morning at 7 a.m. and I didn't have that for nine months."

As of now, Papa Joe's is getting back on its feet and "taking it easy" for the next few weeks, Joe Harris said. Grand opening festivities with live music, a cookout and more are scheduled for the beginning of August.

Joe Harris said he felt he owed it to his employees and the neighborhood to re-open his sports bar.

"We had people out of work and when we needed them, the entire neighborhood came out to help us clean up," he said. "That was pretty neat."

Renovations at Whitfield Square are ongoing and Joe said he believes neighboring businesses will also return to the plaza in the coming months.

Papa Joe's is open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 9 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.

For more information, call (941) 727-0820.

This story was originally published June 26, 2018 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Irma destroyed this Manatee sports bar. Now it's back and 'everything is new'."