‘We missed ya’ll!’ Bradenton’s Linger Lodge Restaurant makes a big announcement
The iconic Linger Lodge Restaurant, which closed in July 2020 because of a spike in COVID-19 cases, and then stayed closed during the rebuilding of the surrounding RV park, reopens Friday.
Linger Lodge management announced the reopening this week on Facebook:
“We are back. We are very excited to let you know that Friday, Aug. the 5, the restaurant will reopen!
“Opening hours are Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Reservation are highly recommended! We are looking forward to seeing y’all! We missed you!”
Linger Lodge’s huge following missed it, too.
With its gator bites and frog legs — you can get a grouper sandwich and burger, too — drinks with colorful names like Swamp Water and River Otter, and decor that showcases taxidermy and Americana, there is no other place quite like it.
Linger Lodge, 7205 85th St. Court E., caught the attention of NBC weatherman Al Roker, who once called it “one of the top five weirdest restaurants in the country,” and Forbes.com which called it one of the world’s 10 most unusual restaurants.
Founded in 1945, Linger Lodge is also one of the oldest restaurants in the Bradenton area.
In 2017, the owners closed the restaurant for four months of extensive renovations to update it, clean it up and remove some of the clutter, while preserving its essential quirkiness.
In April 2021, company officials and contractors broke ground on renovations for Linger Lodge’s RV Resort, which has been closed since October 2019.
For safety reasons, the restaurant, in the middle of a 17-acre construction zone, stayed closed until the RV Resort was completed.
Recently, the RV resort began taking reservations again, and this week the restaurant aced its health inspection, setting the stage for its reopening.
For more information, visit lingerlodge.com.
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 8:03 AM.
