Tuesday, October 14, 2025
spot_img
HomeNewsCity NewsCity and Saltmarsh agree to terminate Atlantic Seafood lease

City and Saltmarsh agree to terminate Atlantic Seafood lease

By Julia Roberts

Atlantic Seafood Bait and Tackle, located at 10 Ash Street, will close early under an agreement with the city of Fernandina Beach to support waterfront infrastructure improvements. Photo courtesy city of Fernandina Beach

After more than half a century selling bait and seafood at the Amelia River waterfront, Atlantic Seafood is giving up its lease on the city-owned building at 10 Ash St. Lessee Ernie Saltmarsh has elected to end the lease three years early “for personal business reasons and to support the city’s efforts to improve the waterfront,” the city of Fernandina Beach said in a statement.

Atlantic Seafood is a local favorite for bait and seafood and an iconic landmark at the Fernandina Harbor Marina. The shop has been at the center of discussions of redevelopment at the waterfront.

The building is in poor condition, so much so that the city is unable to obtain property insurance for it. Its location is such that it is in the center of plans for redevelopment of the waterfront by the city, which owns the Fernandina Harbor Marina. Redevelopment plans include making the waterfront more resilient to flooding with a floodwall. Comments from engineers who have studied the waterfront said construction adjacent to the building could potentially destroy it.

Anne Coonrod leased the building from the city of Fernandina Beach from 2008 until 2023, when the lease was taken over by Saltmarsh. Saltmarsh wanted to expand the shop into a restaurant, and brought those plans to the city commission for approval in 2022, but the commission did not approve the new facility, saying it was too big and did not fit in with the historic feel of the downtown.

According to a statement from the city, Saltmarsh will still sell fresh seafood, but from a new business on Sadler Road, formerly the location of Cedar River Seafood. The statement said he would “incorporate elements” from Atlantic Seafood at the waterfront into the new establishment.

Saltmarsh’s relinquishment of the lease is the result of years of back-and-forth with the city regarding the location. 

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

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

Termination of the lease is set to be discussed and potentially approved at the Sept. 16 city commission meeting.

jroberts@nassaunewsline.net

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Become a Member -spot_img

RECENT NEWS