Honeymoon Island, off the coast
of Dunedin, is Florida’s most
visited state park and has
ranked highest in visitors and
revenue for the last 14 years. That is quite
an accomplishment, considering Florida
is home to 600 miles of beaches and 175
state parks. The island’s natural beauty
obviously plays a part in its popularity,
but beauty alone only gets you so far.
In Honeymoon’s case, success was no
accident. Its growth was steady and
deliberate, stemming from a successful
partnership between the State of Florida
and a private, small Dunedin business.
Roughly 40 years ago, when the company
now known as the Bon Appétit Group was
simply Bon Appétit Restaurant, Florida
State officials took notice of the young
restaurant’s success, as they were looking
for a partnership. They approached Bon
Appétit’s owners, Peter Kreuziger and Karl
Riedl, inviting them to take over concession
operations for Caladesi Island. Excited by
the opportunity, the pair accepted. Several
years later, as a result of being happy with
the outcome of their original partnership,
the state again approached Kreuziger and
Chef Riedl, offering them the opportunity
to expand their operations to Honeymoon
Island.
At that time, Honeymoon Island’s
annual visitation peaked around 300,000,
much higher than neighboring Caladesi,
an island that is only accessible by boat.
The business partners didn’t have to think
twice. The answer was an easy “yes.”
They realized taking on Honeymoon
Island’s food and beverage concessions
opened new possibilities for revenue
132 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
generation for both the park and the
Bon Appétit Group.
Guest services including rentals of
kayaks, umbrellas and beach chairs, as
well as the sale of retail merchandise
such as beach supplies and souvenirs
was unchartered territory for these fine
dining restaurateurs. Nevertheless, they
succeeded. They invested in their business
and the park by advertising to create
awareness about the new amenities the
island had to offer. By the mid-1990s, their
efforts were paying off as Honeymoon
Island’s annual visitors spiked to 500,000.
While the influx of visitors was a
positive achievement, as it stimulated
more outdoor activity and environmental
awareness among the public, more
visitors also meant that more resources
were needed to maintain the park. To
BUSAIRNTESS
HONEYMOON ISLAND
Florida’s Most Visited State Park
By Meghan Farrell
Weddings on the beach have become very popular on Honeymoon Island.
SHANNON LIVINGSTON