Outdoor Kitchens
Home & Garden: A new dimension to cookouts- Open-air kitchens
By Amy Sowder
asowder@news-press.com
Originally posted on February 02, 2008
 Outdoor kitchens have made a comeback in Southwest Florida, even during this slower housing market. Bill Sandifer closed his Suncoast Patio furniture business last year and opened Palm Outdoor Kitchens because furniture wasn’t selling and customers were asking about outdoor kitchens instead.
People know remodeling a home that can’t sell can increase the home’s value for when the market improves, Sandifer says. “More and more people want an outdoor kitchen when they see it at other houses,” he says. “It’s got that cool factor.”
Most outdoor kitchens are built on the lanai or patio. They include a fancy commercial grill, cabinets, a countertop and a sink. The high-end kitchens have tables with built-in fire pits, side-burners, wine coolers, ice makers, under-counter refrigerators, garbage disposals, Lazy Susans, beer coolers, and dishwashers. The best have granite countertops and faux stone siding. People don’t have to be loaded to get one, either. Outdoor kitchens can cost as low as $5,000 for people who want a bit more than a grill to more than $30,000 for the truly devoted outdoor diners.
John Whelan shows his Vermont Castings gas grill, part of his outdoor kitchen at his south Fort Myers home. South Fort Myers retirees Kay and Brian Bucher paid $30,000 to dine alfresco in comfort and style. Their open-air kitchen is a two-parter. One part under an overhang has a sink, wine cooler, cabinets and a pullout TV. The other section under the patio screen has a grill, refrigerator, granite countertops and matching chairs. With Florida’s sunny and seasonable weather, the Buchers say they have hardly any reason to go inside. “We spend most of our time outside,” says Kay Bucher, 56, a former Chicagoan. “I feel like I’m at a resort.” The Buchers use their new kitchen at least five nights a week. “It’s like you have a whole other room,” she says. With the help of friends, Craig Aberbach designed and built a $35,000 outdoor kitchen outside his Cape Coral home last spring. It has a propane grill, side burners, a rotisserie cooker, a vent fan, a sink with hot and cold water, cabinets, granite countertops and a bar that seats six. Aberbach got the idea from home TV shows and barbecue kits after his wife, Vicki, complained that smoke from his grill trailed into the lanai and house. So Aberbach’s friend drew up a design of an outdoor kitchen to his specifications and they ordered the parts. “I wanted to do something really special,” says Aberbach, 43. “It’s big. I’m very proud of it.” John Whelan built his south Fort Myers outdoor kitchen with a 42-inch gas grill, a double side-burner, ice maker, sink, stainless steel cabinets and countertops with marble tile and granite inlay. “I can make a mess out there and I don’t get yelled at,” Whelan says with a laugh. “I can’t do that on the inside.” Whelan uses the kitchen on his lanai mainly when he entertains friends and family. “There’s the shock and awe,” he says. “People can’t believe when they come over that you have something like this.”
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