Brian Nagle spent three years managing Shucker’s at the Gulfshore and The Cottage Bar restaurants on Fort Myers Beach, only to see both century-old buildings vanish during Hurricane Ian because of roaring winds and at least 15 feet of storm surge flooding.
With the future of the property and restaurants uncertain, Nagle couldn’t wait to embark upon his next line of work. He started a licensed handyman business called B. Nagle Repair and Maintenance.
“I started when I was 13, up in New Jersey, renovating kitchens and bathrooms,” said Nagle, who worked then for his uncle. “He taught me a trade, which I am eternally grateful for. I do maintenance and repair. I decided to take a break from the restaurant business. Not only that, but I’ve been doing construction all my life. I created a network. I kind of have this word-of-mouth thing going already with my reputation.” 
Immediately after the storm, Nagle held fundraisers for his fellow restaurant employees. Married and the father of three children, Nagle knew he needed to get back to earning an income. He’s working on earning his general contractor’s license and building a team to work on restaurants and businesses in addition to households needing repairs.
“This is something I can do,” Nagle said. “I have the tools. I have the vehicle that I need to make this happen. So why not try to get some legs under something of my own. And use that network that I built for myself first.”
Nagle had plenty of experience in restaurants, having managed The Lodge in downtown Fort Myers prior to The Cottage and Shucker’s. But he grew fond of managing the beach restaurants, and he could not imagine jumping into another restaurant business right now.
“It was the best time of my life,” Nagle said of working at The Cottage. “I had a lot of fun doing it. But the best thing is I learned a lot from doing it. The best thing is I learned so much. How to really effectively run a business successfully. How to manage people. How to deal with customers.” 
The Cottage property’s ownership group, Colorado East LLC, consists of nine people. They include Dana Gosford of Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up on Fort Myers Beach and told Gulfshore Business that she and two of the owners are hoping to retain ownership of the property and rebuild, while the other six owners are hoping to sell their shares. The asking price for the land is $16 million for what measures to be about eight-tenths of an acre.
Nagle said if the restaurants are rebuilt, he would be first in line to return and manage them. Until then, he will continue building B. Nagle Repair and Maintenance with his rates starting at $55 an hour, plus materials. He can be reached by phone at (239) 464-9787 or by email at Bnagle484@gmail.com.
