Celebrating Pine Islanders: Bernard Johnson
Due to the legendary status of Bert’s Bar and Grill, many think of Bernard Johnson as a local restaurateur, or more accurately, a guy who made a valiant contribution to the community, as he did in giving People’s Choice Award winner Mike Imbasciani a place to get his musical career off the ground, by allowing him to gig at Bert’s when he was a kid, or giving future fellow restaurateur, Lisa Dence, one of her first jobs on the island, or being the starting ground for renown local band, Deb and the Dynamics.
Johnson however, describes himself as a long-term resident of Matlacha. It was in the mid 1970s, he said, when he first came to south Florida — Bonita Springs.
“In the early ’80s, someone wanted to swap some land up in Bokeelia and that was the first time I came to Pine Island. I saw it and I just thought it was terrific. As I drove out there and back, all I could think of was, boy I’d love to live here someday,” Johnson said.
In 1998, he and partner Laura Smith ended up in Matlacha, and they’ve been there ever since. In addition to being a meeting place for organizations like Kiwanis and the Matlacha Hookers, Bert’s Bar and Grill was more than simply a place where locals gathered.
“It becomes a community. When you’re living in a place where so many people know each other … you don’t want to go anyplace else,” Johnson said.
Bert’s was a stalwart place where many Pine Islanders found themselves taking respite, refuge and recreation until September 2022 when Hurricane Ian destroyed it, along with Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery, another of Johnson’s businesses located just across the street.
Many former Bert’s customers, he said, are now finding themselves at Bubba’s Roadhouse on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral, owned by Johnson’s son, Jay.
“My son is very active in Lee County, I’m very proud of him — and my daughter, too. She’s up in Memphis. She’s got four restaurants and a pretty big catering service,” Johnson said of his daughter, Michelle Wilson.
Although Bert’s Bar and Grill and Bert’s Pine Bay Gallery have been destroyed, many other projects are currently keeping Johnson busy, such as a golf course development in Mississippi, he said. His attitude and sense of humor remain intact and most noteworthy, as post-hurricane, Johnson announced, tongue-in-cheek of course, that a reward would be given to anyone who could find and return Bert’s Bar and Grill in its entirety. T-shirts for that witty endeavor sold out immediately, more than likely to those who loved Bert’s most.
Plans to rebuild Bert’s are currently underway, although, according to Johnson, it may take a long while before we see the end of the project.
“Let’s see how it works out. It is going to be a long process. We have hired an architect and he is working plans,” Johnson said.
Ultimately, he said he will keep moving forward without looking back. Johnson remains, a long-term resident of Matlacha and an unshakable member of a community to which he continues to contribute.
“Never give up, and hopefully, things happen that will allow many of us to stay here and that we don’t get pushed out or bought out and can remain on the island and keep our community,” Johnson said.
To reach PAULETTE LeBLANC / pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com, please email