Big John set to return to South Cape looking better than ever

COME MONDAY. >> ALL RIGHT, RAFAEL, THANK YOU. AND A HUGE CAPE CORAL LANDMARK MAY BE MAKING ITS WAY BACK SOONER THAN YOU THINK. YEAH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BIG JOHN STATUE. IT'S BEEN IN THAT PARKING LOT IN CAPE CORAL. IT'S BEEN A LANDMARK THERE. >> SINCE THE 70'S, BUT AS WE KNOW, IT'S BEEN DAMAGED PRETTY BAD DURING HURRICANE IAN AND IT WAS REMOVED FOR REPAIRS LAST YEAR. KAFKA'S NEWS REPORTEDLY SPOKE WITH THE LANDMARKS OWNER. >> ON WHEN WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE BIG JOHN. WHEN IS IT GOING? >> CAPE CORAL CERTAINLY MISSES BIG JOB. WHETHER YOU'RE DRIVING PAST OR YOU'RE GOING SOMEWHERE HERE IN THE PLAZA, IT'S HARD NOT TO NOTICE THIS EMPTY PLATFORM WHERE HE ONCE STOOD TODAY. I CAUGHT UP WITH BIG DOGS OWNER WHO SAYS IT'S STILL UNDERGOING REPAIRS BUT WE COULD BE SEEING HIM BACK OUT HERE VERY SOON. >> BUT IN THE OUT OF JAIL, TELL I'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF CALLS ABOUT WHEN JON COMING BACK. WHEN JOHN COMING BACK OR RETURN, MANY PEOPLE IN CAPE CORAL ARE WAITING FOR HIS PART OF THEIR FAMILY AS WELL. SO BIG DOG. HE'S GROWN UP WITH A CAPE CORAL. WELL, FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS, THE BELOVED SMILING STATUE HOLDING GROCERY BAGS GREETING YOU TO THE SOUTH CAPE TOWN CENTER. A LANDMARK PEOPLE HAVE ENJOYED SINCE THE 70'S. THIS WILL BE THE 4TH TIME BIG JOHN'S GOING TO REMAKE UP. >> AND TYPICALLY IT'S BEEN OF AGE. YOU KNOW, THE PAIN GOES AWAY. AND THE KIND OF THING THAT HURRICANE IAN. >> THE 28 FOOT STATUE WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED IN 2022. BACK IN NOVEMBER, GULF COAST NEWS SHOWED YOU BIG, JOHN IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF THESE ONGOING REPAIRS. WE DID A PRETTY WILL HAVE PLACE TO ALL THE STEEL AND GLASS A SEAL THE WELL IN THE PAINTING. THE GRAPHICS, THE WHOLE 9 YARDS. BRAND. ONE INK IN CAPE CORAL HAS BEEN WORKING ON THE RESTORATION, BUT ELMER SAYS THE RETURN OF CAPE CORAL'S MASCOT WILL BE WORTH IT. WAIT IS WORTH BIG JOB TO A COMEBACK WORD. GREAT. BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE. YES, HE'S GOING TO HAVE HIS BAGS IN HIS ARMS. WE'RE GOING TO DO A LITTLE DIFFERENT WE TO HIM. BUT EVERYBODY'S GOING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT FROM WHERE WE ARE TODAY. >> AND NEXT TIME WE'LL BE TALKING. HOPEFULLY. >> OUR BUDDY IS GOING TO BE STANDING HERE. >> HOWEVER, SAYS THE STATUE WILL BE COMING BACK WITH SOME NEW ADDITIONS. HE TELLS ME WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE BIG JOHN BACK OUT HERE STANDING TALL, FULLY RESTORED WITHIN TH

For months, residents and visitors alike have been asking the same question: When will Big John be back? The towering, iconic statue that once stood proudly in the South Cape Town Center has been absent while undergoing extensive repairs, but that wait is nearly over.“I’ve been getting a lot of calls — people keep asking, ‘When’s John coming back?’” said Elmer Tabor, owner of the Big John statue. “They’ve been bugging the hell out of me!”A familiar and beloved figure in Cape Coral for over 50 years, Big John has become part of the local identity. Many residents remember growing up with the statue as a fixture in their daily lives.“He’s part of their family as well,” Tabor said. “It’s so neat to run into people that say, ‘I grew up with Big John.’”The statue originally came to Southwest Florida from an Illinois-based Big John’s Grocery Store and has stood tall in South Cape since 1969, smiling and holding grocery bags in his hands.This is the fourth major restoration for Big John over the decades, but the latest one became necessary after Hurricane Ian severely damaged the 28-foot-tall fiberglass and steel figure.Back in November, Gulf Coast News captured the early stages of the statue’s repair. Since then, the team at Brand1 Ink in Cape Coral has been hard at work on the restoration, addressing everything from fiberglass and welding to paint and graphics.“We ended up pretty well having to replace all the steel on him,” Tabor said. “The steel, the welding, the painting, the graphics — the whole nine yards.”That full makeover hasn’t come cheap. Unexpected complications with the steelwork have added roughly $10,000 to the original $32,000–$34,000 estimate, Tabor said.But despite the challenges, he said the makeover is well worth the time and investment.“Big John’s going to come back with a great big smile on his face,” he said. “Yes, he’s going to have his bags in his arms. We’re doing a little tweak to him, but everybody’s going to be excited about it.”So when can we expect his triumphant return?Tabor said the fully restored Big John is expected to stand tall in South Cape once again within the next two months — better than ever, and ready to welcome back the community that’s missed him so much.

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

For months, residents and visitors alike have been asking the same question: When will Big John be back? The towering, iconic statue that once stood proudly in the South Cape Town Center has been absent while undergoing extensive repairs, but that wait is nearly over.

“I’ve been getting a lot of calls — people keep asking, ‘When’s John coming back?’” said Elmer Tabor, owner of the Big John statue. “They’ve been bugging the hell out of me!”

A familiar and beloved figure in Cape Coral for over 50 years, Big John has become part of the local identity. Many residents remember growing up with the statue as a fixture in their daily lives.

“He’s part of their family as well,” Tabor said. “It’s so neat to run into people that say, ‘I grew up with Big John.’”

The statue originally came to Southwest Florida from an Illinois-based Big John’s Grocery Store and has stood tall in South Cape since 1969, smiling and holding grocery bags in his hands.

This is the fourth major restoration for Big John over the decades, but the latest one became necessary after Hurricane Ian severely damaged the 28-foot-tall fiberglass and steel figure.

Back in November, Gulf Coast News captured the early stages of the statue’s repair. Since then, the team at Brand1 Ink in Cape Coral has been hard at work on the restoration, addressing everything from fiberglass and welding to paint and graphics.

“We ended up pretty well having to replace all the steel on him,” Tabor said. “The steel, the welding, the painting, the graphics — the whole nine yards.”

That full makeover hasn’t come cheap. Unexpected complications with the steelwork have added roughly $10,000 to the original $32,000–$34,000 estimate, Tabor said.

But despite the challenges, he said the makeover is well worth the time and investment.

“Big John’s going to come back with a great big smile on his face,” he said. “Yes, he’s going to have his bags in his arms. We’re doing a little tweak to him, but everybody’s going to be excited about it.”

So when can we expect his triumphant return?

Tabor said the fully restored Big John is expected to stand tall in South Cape once again within the next two months — better than ever, and ready to welcome back the community that’s missed him so much.

Big John set to return to South Cape looking better than ever

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