Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille reopened its Fishermans Wharf location Monday at Fort Myers Beach following 10 months of renovations resulting from Hurricane Ian.  

On Sept. 28, the hurricane’s winds and storm surge wrecked the restaurant’s wooden docks, tearing the wood off its foundation and sending it perpendicular.  

The storm created a wall of wood that may have protected the rest of the building from other debris, said Joe Harrity, one of Doc Ford’s managing partners. The restaurant was lucky, as none of the nearby shrimp boats on San Carlos Island and in Estero Bay rammed into the building. 

“It’s been a heckuva ride,” Harrity said. “The whole place has been completely gutted. Upstairs, we had about 2 feet of water inside. All of the wooden docks were removed.”  

The restaurant has all new kitchen and bar equipment and a new concrete base that is accented with wooden planks that go out to the seawall.  

Gulf Star Marina, which has owned the property since 1992, also rebuilt the docks.  

“The structure was sound and stable,” Harrity said of the building.  

The location has that new restaurant smell again, as all of the second-story dining area received new walls and new flooring.  

About 80 employees went back to work this week, and the restaurant retained about 75% of its staff, Harrity said.  

“We’re expecting a huge turnout,” he said, “especially the first week.”