FORT PIERCE — Fort Pierce officials are outlining next steps for the city-owned Crabby’s Dockside property after the restaurant abruptly closed in February amid significant unpaid debts.
The waterfront restaurant shut down Feb. 15 after it was revealed the operator was behind on rent and property tax payments totaling about $215,000.
In the weeks since, city staff reviewed the title of the property to determine whether additional financial obligations were tied to the lease. Community and Economic Development Director Shyanne Harnage said the findings clarified the city’s position.
“It did share and indicate that there is not any additional encumbrance on the property as a result of this lease with Winking Starfish,” Harnage said.
With that issue addressed, city officials began discussing how to move forward, including whether to terminate the lease and seek a new tenant.
Commissioner Michael Broderick emphasized the importance of securing full control of the property before taking further action, particularly regarding any improvements made to the site.
“Anything we need to do to guarantee us that we have ownership of the improvements, that's the critical thing from my perspective. We can't lease something that we don't own. If the improvements there now come to our benefit, great, we can RFP this thing and get another tenant in there as quickly as possible, a qualified tenant in there as quickly as possible, to not only commence with generation of income for the city, but also mitigate the defaulting tenants' money's owed,” Broderick said.
Broderick also supported pursuing damages from the current operator but questioned whether the city would ultimately recover the money, raising concerns about a possible bankruptcy filing.
Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky suggested an alternative approach that could potentially speed up reopening while addressing the outstanding balance.
“There could be an opportunity for the city to get a restaurateur or someone to take over quicker if the current owner of the lease could negotiate with private restaurateurs who could actually present their options and opportunities that would be approved by this board with maybe a provision that they pay the back lease payments and the taxes, which I understand are about $215,000, give or take,” Dzadovsky said.
Commissioner Arnold Gaines expressed a preference for the city to take the lead in selecting a new tenant rather than relying on the current leaseholder.
“Me personally, I would rather see what we can do to start this termination and then see what we can do to get it out because me personally, I think the five of us, with the help of our city staff, can find a better person to go to our next spot because it's an ideal spot,” Gaines said.
City Attorney Sarah Hedges said any proposal involving a new operator would still require city oversight and approval.
“And there would be a vetting process by the city. It's just not willy nilly that they get to assign it to whomever they wish. The city has to vet that and then approve that,” she said.
Commissioner Curtis Johnson called for a firm deadline to ensure the process moves forward without delay.
“If they do, they have to commit to it in writing that they're going to do this. And we only give a certain period of time for them to go through this process of finding an assignment. I'm not talking more than two months. Really, I'm at 60 days, but I may be leaning toward two months at the most. And then if they can't, then we have to move on,” Johnson said.
The commission agreed to give Crabby’s until its next meeting on April 6 to decide whether to move forward with a plan to secure a new operator. If accepted, the agreement would include a set timeline to complete the process.
If the proposal is declined or no new tenant is secured within the allotted time, the city plans to terminate the lease and pursue legal action.