Sebastian's iconic fish market Crab-E-Bills closed, employees move to Ft. Pierce fish co-op

SEBASTIAN — Crab-E-Bills, the landmark fish market on the city's working waterfront, closed its doors June 1, but longtime patrons still can see their favorite anglers and fishmongers in Fort Pierce.

The city of Sebastian owns the building where Crab-E-Bills operated — known as the Hurricane Harbor building — named after a restaurant that opened in 1978. But the structure is falling apart and is dangerous for anyone to be inside, according to the city.

"As much as Crab-E-Bills wants to stay, there is no way to stay in the building safely," explained City Manager Brian Benton. "The risk that building poses to the patrons is too great."

The next chapter

A new opportunity in Fort Pierce has allowed Crab-E-Bills' legacy to carry on.

"The whole point of Crab-E-Bills and what we were trying to achieve was to bring the freshest fish to the people of Sebastian and Indian River County," said former employee Carmine Leonetti. "We found another opportunity in Fort Pierce to continue that legacy."

Leonetti, an 18-year Crab-E-Bills employee, and some of his co-workers have joined the Florida Fresh Fish Cooperative, at 24 N. Causeway, Fort Pierce.

A co-op is a worker-owned-and-controlled business where commercial fishers come together, sell their catch and bring sustainably sourced seafood to their customers.

"It's great to be able to continue doing what we love," said Leonetti. "I am sad to see Crab-E-Bills go, but glad there is something like this to be able to be a part of."

Leonetti already has former Crab-E-Bills customers visiting the co-op.

"Of course we came here once we found out the guys work here," said Vero Beach resident Peter Elder. "We weren't going to change our habits because they changed locations."

Leonetti has been active on the Crab-E-Bills Facebook page promoting his new endeavor, encouraging more former customers to come down.

End of an era

Crab-E-Bills has until July 31 to move out of its current location. Then the city is expected to evaluate the state of the building, according to Benton.

"There are a few items left," said Leonetti. "We have until the end of July, but we are almost out."

What the city does remains to be seen.

"Right now, all we have done is applied for a million-dollar grant and committed to matching that," said Mayor Ed Dodd. "We do not have the architectural firm just yet.

"Once an architectural firm is hired and done all the inspections and given us a report, decisions can be made about what to do," said Benton. "Until then, we just have to wait.

"Whatever we do will have to line up with the regulations of the working waterfront."

The Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront was created in 2008 by the Legislature. The city receives grant funding from the state for the acquisition and upkeep of buildings on the condition that those buildings be used for the city's commercial fishing industry, or education about the history of the industry.

At one point, the Hurricane Harbor Building held both Crab-E-Bills and a small museum with exhibits provided by the Indian River Historical Society. The museum showcased not only the broad history of the fishing industry, but also history of the building, which was built prior to 1919 and the beginning of Prohibition.

"The bootleggers would bring rum over from the Bahamas and drop it off and store it in that building," said Indian River County Historian Ruth Stanbridge. "It was known as Bob McCain's garage after the owner, who used his car collection to move the alcohol across the state."

A breakdown in communication

Crab-E-Bills and the city have had a contentious relationship.

Crab-E-Bills claims the city dropped the ball.

"The city asked us to move in without having a maintenance plan," said Leonetti. "Then we get notified that an inspector said the building is in bad shape and we cannot stay."

Shortly after purchasing the building in 2009, the city discovered a leak in the roof. A roofer was supposed to make repairs, but actually made the problem worse.

"The city at the time took the advice of a bad roofer, which did exacerbate the problem," said Dodd. "However, we have been in contact with the restaurant for over 18 months. They knew this was coming."

Crab-E-Bills' 10-year lease was to run through March. In January, the city agreed to extend it until June 1.

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The city and Crab-E-Bills owner Suzy Andrews could not agree on a lease at a new location that allowed the market to stay in the city. At one point, Crab-E-Bills had all but reached an agreement with the owners of the DaVita Sebastian Dialysis building, approximately 500 feet south of its current location, but a deal was never completed.

"We tried everything to help Crab-E-Bills," said Dodd. "It's a shame."

"I just want everyone to know we loved being in Sebastian," said Leonetti. "We tried to stay open, but it was not financially possible.

"I would love to see our old customers in Fort Pierce," he said. "They know we have the best fish."

Nick Slater is TCPalm's Indian River County Watchdog reporter. You can reach him at Nick.Slater@tcpalm.com and 224-830-2875 .

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sebastian's iconic fish market Crab-E-Bills closed, employees move to Ft. Pierce fish co-op