Crews removed the crane from the Pismo pier Monday morning. The pier is set to reopen ahead of schedule, and businesses are hoping it will bring in more customers.
A few times a year, Larry McWilliams drives seven hours from Chico, California to an RV camp in Pismo Beach.
“We’ve enjoyed walking on it and watching the birds,” said McWilliams. “We like birds. We’ve seen whales from the pier, dolphins, seagulls, and pelicans.”
He said the pier is the best lookout point.
“If you stand on the pier and look back up into the foothills there’s no better view than anywhere we’ve been in the world,” added McWilliams.
Soon locals and visitors will get to experience those views once again.
The pier will re-open after it was closed for more than a year.
The manager of Cool Cat Café hoped the pier’s new facelift will bring a new wave of customers.
“Definitely October, November are pretty slow in this area for all the businesses so we are pretty excited it’s opening earlier rather than later,” said Julie Corpuel, manager at Cool Cat’s Café.
The grand opening is happening during the 72nd Pismo Beach Clam Festival. One of the servers at Brad’s Restaurant said it was a hot topic.
“I know a lot of people ask all the time. It’s going to be really exciting to have it going on, get the winter hours, have some more people coming on down through,” said Griffin Chanley, a server at Brad’s Restaurant.
Makeovers for the plaza and parking lot are still underway.
The Pismo Pier will officially open October 20th while the Pismo Beach Clam Festival runs October 19th through the 21st.
