Celebrating Pine Islanders: Nicole Dence
(Editor’s note: The following article published in last week’s Pine Island Eagle is being reprinted because a portion of the copy was inadvertently omitted. The Eagle regrets the error.)
Nicole Dence said one of the most important things about her is that she is a mom of three boys, which she describes as “the best thing in the entire world.”
In 2002, Dances’ family of origin made its way to Southwest Florida from New York. By the time she was 18, Dence began working at Bert’s in Matlacha, alongside her mom, Lisa Dence, owner of Salty Girls Island Café and former owner of Olde Fish House.
“We’re from a very small town in New York, so the island really made us feel like it was comparable,” Dence said, talking about how in other towns, such as Cape Coral, kids can live right beside one another and yet go to different schools.
Working on Pine Island and Matlacha from such a young age has given Dence a unique perspective she might not have been privy to anyplace else.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned and love about waitressing out here for so long, and it’s why I’ve stayed out here all this time, is if you go to a corporate restaurant, you may be just another table and as the waitress you may not see those people again, but out here, you’re not just another customer-here they’re your family. They may not have family here, they may not have a granddaughter or a niece and that’s my goal; to make them feel welcome and know their drinks when they walk in. Most people don’t even need a menu at Salty Girls,” Dence said.
An appreciation for the island surroundings came as she got older and in wisdom, Dence began to realize Pine Island and the people living here are truly unique.
“When I was at the Fish House and I was a little older, I had my baby shower out here and my kids would get Christmas presents from the people out here,” she said, admitting she often talks to Pine Islanders more than some of her own family in New York.
If she was in a situation where she had to tell someone about Pine Island who had never heard of it, she said she might explain that it’s a lot like a northern small town.
“I just feel like everybody’s family out here. Everybody watches over each other. I feel like it’s a really unique place that is very hard to describe, but it’s such a special place,” Dence said.
If she had just one wish for the island, she said, obviously it would be, no more storms, but the spirit of Pine Island is something that has grown with her since coming here as a teenager, and displayed itself beautifully throughout and after Hurricane Ian.
“I hope that we can continue to be as resilient as we have been and that it doesn’t change, because the resilience this island has shown is something special,” Dence said.