Part VII "The Intermission" 
For old times sake. . . (2002) 

   This chapter in the history of The Island Hotel begins and ends with the purchase of this grand old hotel by Marylou and Bill Stewart. Marylou was born in Eustis, Florida and lived in Mount Dora until she went away to Texas Women's University. Bill was raised in South Florida from South Miami area down to the Florida Keys.
    Marylou, a retired Registered Nurse and Bill, a retired Health Care Executive and Consultant, made a decision to leave the healthcare industry and Georgetown, Texas (where they have lived for two years) to return to Florida. They both desired a change of address and a new challenge. After much discussion and soul searching, Bill retained a broker and began a search throughout Florida for a "bed & breakfast" opportunity in a property that reflected the "old Florida", Marylou and Bill remembered fondly. After looking at dozens of properties throughout Florida, Marylou and Bill found their way to Cedar Key and The Island Hotel. As with previous owners, the connection was immediate and an intense desire to acquire the grand "old lady" was almost overwhelming. It took some months to work through the financing and come to a point where a firm offer was made by the Stewarts and accepted by the Cousins. 
   On October 16, 2001, Marylou and Bill acquired the hotel and are now onsite and managing it. Both Marylou and Bill have much for which to be thankful. It is especially wonderful to become part of a series of owners who have had a unique relationship wit the hotel. All previous owners have made their mark on the hotel, but Bessie Gibbs certainly was most significant. Bessie made the hotel important and loved it dearly. 
   What the new owners do now is a subject of much discussion in the wonderful King Neptune Lounge, where local residents of Cedar Key and visitors from all over the country (and world) all have opinions.
    Marylou and Bill are now serving lunch on weekends with a new eclectic selection of luncheon specialties not found elsewhere on the island. They have modified and updated the dinner menu and wine list to include more selections and bring back items from past years.  Special wine tasting dinner nights, murder mystery nights, a "local resident twosome" dinner nights are now provided mid-week. Entertainments is back in The King Neptune Lounge most weekends with regional musicians playing at volumes that still allow intimate conversation. A "beer garden" in the patio, with quiet music and amateur night performances as well as upgrades to the three annex guest rooms, are next on their "to do" list.
   In July 2002, The Island Hotel became a Florida Heritage historical site. A brown and white Trailblazer sign has been posted in front of the hotel at the corner of State Road 24 and 2nd Street with the designation logo. Currently, Florida has 232 such sites throughout Florida designated by the Florida Division of Historical Resources as important historical landmarks.  
   One thing is sure, The Island Hotel and Restaurant will remain a fine historic property and a wonderful hotel. Previous guests will want to return and new guests will share the memories and stories that is the mystique of this Island Hotel. 

   On October 29th 2002 Bill and Marylou fired all the staff and boarded up this fine old establishment.  They loaded a U-hall and high-tailed it back to Texas.  No one knows the reason why, but as when they got here, the talk in the bar was, for a little while, what went wrong?

   At the begging of November 2002 Dawn & Tony Cousins were appointed by the court as Receiver's.  We were authorized to reopen the Hotel and to get the business running again.
  When we let ourselves back into the hotel, which took us all of about 30 seconds since we know the building so well, we found it very dirty but reasonably well stocked.  
  It took us until just before Christmas to get the place cleaned up and ready to reopen.  We took Christmas for ourselves, and reopened the bar and the lodgings on December 27th.  We had a very productive time and were welcomed back into the community with open arms.  It was the first time in living memory that the Hotel had been closed for more than a few days.  The impact in the community was devastating.
  To Dawn and I it was like putting on a pair of old shoes.  They were already broken in and comfortable.  We were lucky enough to keep meeting many of our old staff who all wanted to come back to work for us.  Rae, who had been our head housekeeper and was working at Faraway Inn, came back to be our manager.  Patsy returned as head housekeeper.  Rose had been our chef and returned part time in mid January to help reopen the restaurant.  Hank, our 'celebrity' bartender, returned to his old Sunday night session (now moved to Monday).  In all, 11 of our old staff have come back to work for us - we feel very honored.

NEW ERA
 January 2004 . . .

     In January 2004, Dawn and Tony Cousins sold the Island Hotel and Restaurant to Andy Bair and his wife Stanley, who are originally from Atlanta.  For the last 10 years they have owned and operated Bair Bahamas Guest House on South Andros Island in the Bahamas.
    In Stanley's words, "We returned to the States in August, 2003, and began a search for 'that one last quiet, undeveloped spot' that might be still found in Florida.  We stumbled onto Cedar Key and the Island Hotel.  We immediately knew we had found what we were looking for. The wonderfully quaint island and the manner in which they welcomed us has been a bonus beyond our wildest dreams.  We are greeted every day by friendly, smiling faces.
    "Our first few weeks were spent giving the hotel a face lift.  We painted the downstairs lobby and replaced worn out furniture throughout the hotel.  A new bath/shower was added for room #27.  The hotel quickly came back to life, and I do believe even the ghosts are smiling.  Is is as if they had spent the day at a beauty parlor!  Our staff is excited about the 'new look' and they have reason to be proud of 'their' hotel again."