Bubble Room Cakes Return For The Weekend Only After Hurricane Ian

The Bubble Room cakes return for the weekend only after Hurricane Ian. The iconic Captiva Island restaurant is still closed. The hurricane wrecked Southwest Florida's barriers islands on September 28, 2022. A few businesses are slowly opening in some capacity. However, the Bubble Room is not one of them. At least not yet.

The Bubble Room is an iconic island restaurant, known for it's shadow box tables in the dining room and an old train traveling along the ceiling. The place is a treasure trove of trinkets and antiques. Servers are known as Bubble Scouts and the menu items have clever names. Some include, Duck Wellington, Smoke Get's In Your Eyes, Marylin Mignon and more.

In addition, The Bubble Room is known for its cheesy Bubble Bread, sweet Sticky Buns and massive cake. Four of those cakes will be available this weekend thanks to a pop-up at The Broadway Palm Dinner Theater on Colonial Blvd in Fort Myers. The owners are opening their kitchen to The Bubble Room to recreate some sweet magic.

Beginning Friday, from 2-6pm, you can purchase a slice or entire Chocolate, Orange Crunch, Coconut or Red Velvet cake. Cake is also available from 11am-5pm both Saturday and Sunday. Just drive to the back of the theater for pickup. No pre-orders, it's first come first serve.

It's hard to replicate that mouthwatering Red Velvet Cake. However, they did give me the recipe last year for a holiday piece I was working on for Times of the Islands Media Group. The digital copy is here.

This weekend, The Bubble Room cakes return return for the weekend only after Hurricane Ian and I for one will be lining up for a slice. It's weird how you don't realize how much you miss something until you can't get it. Do I really miss the cake? The Bubble Room itself? Do I miss Captiva the way it was? I for sure miss Southwest Florida the way it was. This cake is more than just cake. It's comfort. It's hope.

After ripping apart islands such as Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, and Pine Island, Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa. Cayo Costa is an island off the coast of Fort Myers, just after 3 p.m.  Ian came in with 150 mph winds, the fifth-strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Additionally, according to ABC News, “Ian then made a second landfall 90 minutes later, still as a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds, just south of Punta Gorda, near Pirate Harbor.”

Florida Department of Transportation did an amazing job getting Pine Island's bridge reconnected. The Sanibel Causeway is a much more difficult task. As you can see, Ian washed away several parts of the span.

That being said, the projection is still to have temporary fixes in place by the end of the month. Around 30 days after Hurricane Ian's landfall. Crews are working 24/7 to make this happen.

Currently, Sanibel residents reach the island by boat. There's also supplies delivered by helicopter. There's no power or water service on the island and a curfew remains in place. Sanibel is one of the most beautiful places in Florida. With a lot of work and determination, the island is rebuilding. Miami based Joe Raedle of Getty Images was on the island over the weekend.