The Anna Maria City Pier Is Coming Back, and We Can’t Wait

The long walk over clear blue-green water. The Sunshine Skyway in the distance. Fishing lines in Tampa Bay while pelicans wait hopefully nearby. Dolphins appearing when you least expect them. Lunch, a cold drink and one of the prettiest views on the island.

There are few places that capture the Island life quite like the Anna Maria City Pier, and we have missed it.

After being badly damaged during the 2024 hurricanes, the pier is being rebuilt and is currently expected to reopen in fall 2026. When it returns, visitors can look forward to fishing, food and drinks, local music and plenty of places to sit and enjoy the view.

Come for the View

The Anna Maria City Pier stretches from the end of Pine Avenue into Tampa Bay, offering a completely different perspective from the island’s Gulf beaches. From the T-end, you can see the Sunshine Skyway, Egmont Key, Passage Key and the waters surrounding Anna Maria Island. Look down and you may spot schools of fish, rays or even a manatee gliding beneath the pier.

Mornings are peaceful, with calm water and beautiful light over the bay. Later, the breeze picks up and the pier becomes the perfect place to grab a drink, listen to music and watch the boats go by.

Bringing Back the Fishing

Fishing has always been part of the City Pier experience, whether you know exactly what you’re doing or are helping a child catch their very first fish. The rebuilt pier will preserve fishing access around the T-end, and a public bait and tackle shop is officially part of the plan. Even if you never cast a line, it is fun to see what everyone else is catching, watch the pelicans supervise and peer into the water below.

Welcoming a New Restaurant

Also coming to the T-end is PIERadise, a new open-air bar and grill occupying both pier buildings. The restaurant is expected to open with the pier or shortly afterward. The menu has not been announced yet, but casual food, beer, wine and regular entertainment from local musicians are all part of the plan.

Honestly, lunch and live music over the bay sounds pretty close to paradise to us.

The Anna Maria City Pier Has Been Rebuit Before

If this feels familiar, it is. Hurricane Irma badly damaged the original 1911 City Pier in 2017. It was demolished, completely rebuilt and finally reopened in June 2020 after nearly three years away.

Just four years later, Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Anna Maria Island. The buildings at the end survived, but approximately 400 to 500 feet of the walkway connecting them to land was destroyed.

The new walkway is being built with solid concrete pilings and a stronger support system, while the buildings and other areas at the T-end are also being repaired. The city is currently working toward a November 2026 reopening, although the final date will depend on construction progress and weather.

One of the Best Stops on Pine Avenue

When the City Pier returns, it will once again be the perfect addition to a day on Pine Avenue. Browse the shops, have lunch over the bay, take the children fishing or walk to the end just to see what might be swimming below.

Stay for ten minutes or lose an entire afternoon there. No reservations or elaborate plans required.

That is what we have missed most. The City Pier is one of those simple Anna Maria Island experiences that naturally becomes one of your favorite vacation memories.