Two ‘Peaces’ of paradise

Hurricane Ian not only put those interviews on hold but also submerged their other iconic eatery — Arcadia’s Nav-A-Gator Bar & Grill — waist deep in the cresting Peace River.

“When we first got there, the morning after the storm, we had the false sense that the Nav-A-Gator had fared pretty well,” Shauna Shows said. “It was dry inside. We saw ourselves reopening in a few weeks.”

A few hours later, she said, Jesse Shows called her and said the water was rising and “up to his ankles.”

“By the time it was dark, water full of water moccasins was up to our waists,” Shauna Shows said. “A river, with a current, was rushing through the restaurant.”

After the water receded, they and their employees spent two days gutting the block building from the waterline down.

As they went, they saved many of the place’s autographed dollar bills and memorabilia, so that it will still feel like the Nav-A-Gator after the rebuild.

“In a weird way, it was therapeutic to wield a sledge hammer and get a clean slate,” Shauna Shows said. “We knew we needed to renovate the bathrooms and expand the kitchen, but we’d wanted to do it in our own time.”

Meanwhile, the couple had unwittingly put themselves in a perfect position to move forward, by purchasing The Hut in Buckingham — long a dream property for all who’d owned it.

“If I could design my ideal restaurant, Tommy Lee Cook already did that with The Hut,” Shauna Shows said. “We can do much more there than we could at the Nav-A-Gator. We’re stepping up the menu there because we’ll have the means to do so.”

Cook — a singer/songwriter, general contractor and one-man Buckingham preservation society — had, in 2011, bought the property that world traveler Edwin Peace originally built in the 1920s as a home for his wife, a Tahitian princess.

After the Peaces’ deaths, their home became The Hut restaurant for nearly 30 years.

Before falling into disrepair, it had hosted glittering weddings, anniversaries and celebrations in a vast labyrinth of indoor-outdoor dining areas, stages and bars. Some 40 employees served guests in its 250 seats.

It had sat empty for two years by the time Cook bought it, with a dream of returning it to its former splendor.

He set out to restore the 9,000-square-foot building and built decks, boardwalks, a refreshed pond and a waterfall on its 4 acres of tropical gardens.

After four years, he realized he wasn’t cut out to be a restaurateur. In 2016, he announced plans to sell.

Cook still operates The World Famous Buckingham Blues Bar live-music venue but said at the time of The Hut, “The right person can do really well here. It’s just not me.”

Shauna and Jesse Shows have already succeeded with one Old Florida icon. Now they hope to be the right people to bring back another one.

Rum Bucket Bar & Grill ($$, O), 239-288-6975, 5150 Buckingham Road, Fort Myers, hopes to open before Thanksgiving, get staff and musicians back to work, and continue renovating as it goes.