Atlantic Seafood no more, ends city lease

The iconic red building on the riverfront selling fresh seafood for decades will be no more, as the city of Fernandina Beach announced Wednesday that Atlantic Seafood was ending its lease with the City.

"The City of Fernandina Beach and Atlantic Seafood Bait and Tackle have reached an agreement to conclude the business’s lease of City-owned property at 10 Ash Street ahead of its scheduled expiration," the city said in a press release.

Leaseholder Ernie Saltmarsh said he plans to move the seafood business to the Atlantic Seafood Restaurant on Sadler Road in the near future.

The city stated: Saltmarsh, who has owned and operated Atlantic Seafood Bait and Tackle since 2022, has requested to end this lease three years early for personal business reasons and to support the city’s ongoing efforts to improve the waterfront.

“This agreement represents a collaborative step forward for our community,” said City Manager Sarah Campbell. “We are grateful for Mr. Saltmarsh’s partnership over the years. We look forward to the success of his business and for the City’s ongoing critical infrastructure improvements at the waterfront.”

Saltmarsh expressed appreciation for the community’s support of Atlantic Seafood Bait and Tackle over the years and plans to incorporate elements of this establishment into the Atlantic Seafood Restaurant located at 2728 Sadler Rd.

Saltmarsh stated, “We look forward to continuing to offer fresh seafood to our customers in a new location very soon.”

Atlantic Seafood locked its doors two weeks ago.

Termination of the lease is pending City Commission approval at the September 16 regular commission meeting.

Atlantic Seafood’s small fish-market building remained in place under an assigned ground lease to Atlantic Seafood, LLC (Saltmarsh) beginning in 2022; multiple iterations of a larger replacement concept were discussed at City Commission meetings, but the lessee never advanced a buildable plan to construction, and the project did not materialize.

In early 2025, additional scrutiny fell on the lease when the city disclosed missed ground-rent payments; the operator subsequently cured the delinquency. Even after the account was brought current, city boards and staff acknowledged that the lessee had not delivered the required building plans by the deadlines contemplated in the amended lease framework. As of August, there was no permit-ready plan and no new structure underway.

Saltmarsh proposed a much larger two-story replacement building that would be a combined restaurant-fresh seafood market that would have been three times the size of the existing structure. City Commissioners could never agree on increasing the footprint of a proposed replacement structure.

What happens to the existing building - in need of extensive repairs - will be discussed at the Sept. 16 City Commission meeting.

Timeline: Atlantic Seafood at Fernandina Harbor Marina

• Mid-1980s – Anne T. Coonrod owns and operates Atlantic Seafood at 10 Ash Street (oral histories, obituaries).

• 2003 – Atlantic Seafood Bait & Tackle, LLC registered in Florida; address 10 Ash Street; agent listed as Anne T. Coonrod.

• May 2008 – City Commission approves lease with Coonrod, doing business as Atlantic Seafood (Resolution 2008-71).

• July–October 2021 – Lease renegotiations after city issues demolition notice. Proposed Oct. 5 lease not approved by commission.

• August 2022 – Lease formally assigned to Atlantic Seafood LLC (Ernie Saltmarsh) under City Resolution 2022-142.

• December 2023 – Commission approves conceptual site plan and elevations for a new two-story replacement building (Resolution 2023-220).

• February 2025 – Reports surface of eight months of unpaid rent (~$15,500). Lessee later pays ~$17,000 and account is brought current.

• June 2025 – Waterfront Advisory Board questions whether required final plans for the new building have been submitted.

• September 2025 - City and Saltmarsh terminate lease for city-owned building.
  
  

  -----------------------------------------------------------

  If you value community-centered journalism, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work at the Observer. Your contribution, no matter the size, helps us continue telling the stories that matter most to our community. Thank you.