El Pollo Rico celebrates five years on the island
In addition to waiting to celebrate their first child being born (Oliver Sergio Miceli), Mike and Morgan Miceli celebrated five years in business for their restaurant, El Pollo Rico, in Bokeelia on Friday, March 26. Although it took two years to open the doors, El Pollo Rico has been going strong ever since 2016.
“The building was built in 1952 and was one of the first pieces of commercial property on the island,” said Miceli. “It just took a lot of variances to get us open.”
The Micelis managed through the difficulties of owning a restaurant during COVID restrictions, including mandatory shutdowns, which created its own set of problems, but never held them back. Overall, Miceli said he’s fortunate to be in the position he’s in, and cannot wait for his son to attend Pine Island Elementary, just as his wife Morgan did when she was a child.
“I love our island. The islanders have made me feel at home,” said Miceli. “As much as we can do for the island, we want to do — like the ‘Gobble Give Back’ at Thanksgiving every year. Last year we did 200 meals and hopefully this year we can do 300. I buy headphones for the Pine Island Elementary School kids every single year, and we were able to make them lunches through COVID.
“Morgan is due May 1, so April 17 will be our last day so we can prepare,” he said. “We will reopen in early June.”
El Pollo Rico is located at 5508 Avenue A, Bokeelia, FL 33922. Call 239-558-4046 for additional information.