03/15/2026
This is a long post, and I struggled with whether to write it at all but decided some people might be interested in a bit of our back story, so here goes.
First and foremost, I personally want to thank everyone who has created and shared posts about our reopening, and made such positive, encouraging, and uplifting comments. We can't even properly express our gratitude for all of the incredible support we have received over the years.
As most of you know, we've been through the mill ever since Hurricane Ian in 2022, which was followed by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. (Plus, there was Charley in 2004.)
There have been many comments and arguments about what we should or should not have done along the way. We truly do respect all the different opinions, but honestly, nobody understands our situation (the background, the details, the legalities) as well as we do, so there has been a fair amount of assuming, speculating, judging, and criticism. Some of it has been hard to read without getting defensive, so we've largely tried to stay quiet on these subjects.
Fortunately, most folks have been very supportive along the way, and that's why we have pressed on. There were many times when it would have been easier to just throw in the towel and put up an "as is" for sale sign. It's been a thought that crossed our minds more than once, trust me.
To give a bit of perspective, my husband and I were evacuated to a hotel on the east coast of Florida while Milton hit. We'd already suffered Ian damage to our home on Sanibel and gone through multiple remediations and remodels there. We were very fortunate that our house was not destroyed, as were many others, but we were out of our home for 13 months altogether. The Duck had just barely dug out of the sand inundation from Helene and was preparing to reopen when, while evacuated for Milton, we got photos from one of our local Sheriff's deputies showing the Duck's condition - yet more sand inundation, front windows and wall gone, roof sagging, dining room trashed, etc. Our GM and his family were in the same hotel, and I remember seeing them at breakfast and crying my eyes out because we truly thought it was over. My husband was already into his 70's at the time and had been in the restaurant business for over 50 years. He was basically of the mindset, "I'm done, this is just too much. I really don't need to do this anymore." But a friend of ours from Captiva called him and said "Andreas, you HAVE to rebuild. This isn't about you; it's about your staff and the community." It would have been far easier for my husband to say, "No way. I don't have it in me. It's just not worth it."
But Andreas is not a quitter. He was raised on a dairy and crops farm in Switzerland and worked his tail off his entire life, from a very early age. First, on the farm, and then going into culinary/hotelier school in Switzerland, and then apprenticeships over there, before immigrating to Canada and then the USA. He came into North America with maybe a couple hundred bucks in his pocket and worked his way up from there - first Montreal, then Hilton Head, SC and finally Captiva, where he worked at South Seas until he was offered a chance to buy a partnership interest in The Mucky Duck. Over the years he bought another restaurant on Fort Myers Beach (the “other Duck”, which he ran for 16 years before selling in 2002), built The Green Flash on Captiva (which he ran for 25 years before selling about 6 years ago), and bought out the other partners at the Captiva Duck. I don't mean to talk about him in a boasting kind of way, but most people have no idea what kind of person he really is or how he has become successful as a restaurateur, and I thought perhaps they might find this interesting or even inspiring.
Andreas never seeks to be in the limelight and only does press interviews because it seems important to other people. He is the most ethical and hardworking person I have ever known and I am more proud of him than I can say, not just for what he has accomplished during his lifetime, but also for sticking out this unimaginably difficult journey of multiple hurricanes over the years and the tedious and EXTREMELY frustrating rebuilding of the Duck at a time in his life when he could easily have said, "I'm done. I've done it and I don't need to do any more." We won't even get into the dunes issue, except to say it's just been more stress that he didn't need or want to endure or take on, but he's doing what he thinks is the right and necessary thing, and not just for us.
To the question of, "Why didn't you just raise the building, or put on a roof top deck?" Well-meaning ideas, but there are many complexities, legalities or ramifications involved. It was not a simple matter of raising our building, which has a historical designation, and even if it was, it's not what we would have chosen to do. The expense, legalities, stress, and logistics of not just raising our building but also having to relocate it due to governmental regulations, or tear it down and do a new build were not what we wanted to take on. We wanted to restore the Duck the way it was, and that was our choice. We've spent decades living and doing business on the Lee County barrier islands, so we are well aware of the risks.
We are also very well aware of how very fortunate we have been over the last 50 years. Overall, despite being on a vulnerable barrier island, most years were without storm damage, or damage was relatively minimal and we were able to reopen without a long delay. So, we would like to emphasize how incredibly grateful we are for these blessings. Many, many people and businesses have faired much worse, and this always weighs heavily on us. Living and doing business on a barrier island is not for the faint of heart.
There’s more I could say, but will end this by saying once again, THANK YOU for your support over the years. And of course THANK YOU to our amazing staff. You are the best. It truly means the world to us!!! ❤️
