Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 March 4 to demolish Annie’s Bait & Tackle, a landmark waterfront destination in Cortez that was hard-hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton last fall.
Annie’s, 4334 127th St. W., was constructed more than 60 years ago and has been operated by Bruce Shearer since 1996 under lease agreements. Shearer, along with community supporters, appealed to county commissioners to find a way to preserve the structure and allow the business to operate.
The county purchased Annie’s from Vandyke Properties in December 2024, along with the Seafood Shack Restaurant, marina and parking lots for $13 million and renamed the property Cortez Marina.
The county’s redevelopment plan includes boat ramps and slips and a concession shop designed to meet safety standards and withstand storms. Plans also include elevated structures and incorporating federal Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant boat lifts and restrooms.
Responding to appeals to preserve the character of the bait and tackle/bar and restaurant operation at Annie’s, the county conducted inspections to reevaluate the structure’s stability and ways for Annie’s to operate while marina construction continued.
However, during a March 4 meeting, deputy county administrator Bryan Parnell presented inspection results showing “catastrophic structural damage, rendering it unsafe for continued use.” The inspections were conducted by a licensed structural engineer, a former county building official and the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Commissioner Jason Bearden, R-District 6, the only member to vote against demolishing Annie’s, urged commissioners to find a solution that benefited Shearer and the county.
“Let’s quit bouncing around on this and let’s figure out a way to do it and how it can work for everybody,” he said.
A proposal from Fawley Bryant Architecture for Annie’s continued operation included temporary docks with a food truck, portable restrooms and covered seating with a cost of $145,000-$250,000.
However, county staff and commissioners noted challenges, including a 180-day lease limit for temporary structures and potential disruptions to the new boat ramp and marina.
Shearer, along with several Annie’s supporters, attended the meeting and said the temporary option was “not a viable business” anyway.
Shearer appealed to commissioners to allow him to repair Annie’s, which has been closed since the storms.
Commissioner Tal Siddique, R-District 3, said he sympathized with Shearer’s situation but could not justify the cost of a temporary buildout.
Also, he said county staff determined FEMA regulations mandate the structure be rebuilt to floodplain standards and cautioned funding repairs to a private business with taxpayer dollars.
“The reality is that this is just not something I feel I can support because we’re publicly subsidizing, we’re bailing out a private business, which just runs counter to my principles of how I believe government and private partnerships should operate,” Siddique said.
He motioned to reject the temporary structure option and begin removing buildings at the Cortez Marina site.
In a March 5 interview, Siddique said the county would give Shearer time to remove items and consider donating parts of the structure.
He also said the county will hold workshops on the redevelopment plan, a process that could take two years.
“People do not want something that does not conform to the community, that doesn’t feel like it belongs in Cortez. So, I think we’re going to see likely a two-story elevated structure,” Siddique said.
“My hope is to have a sandwich shop there with some retail as well, and for it to operate like the concession stands on the island,” he said, referring to the Manatee and Coquina beach concessions.
Mr. Siddique should return to Washington DC or wherever he resided or grew up, since his views of what is and is not Cortez show he doesn’t belong here, sadly. The misrepresentation of the structural damage to the bait and tackle shop is also a shame and an affront to the village of Cortez. The report shown on social media puts the estimates below the 50% rule and likely most of the monetary amount has nothing to do with structural integrity since the building has weather all such in the past with minor damage, it appears the shed and bait tanks may have sustained the majority of damage not the structure of the building. But this should serve as a warning to all in the historic village of Cortez, this government and administration is not your friend and will apply every regulation to remove your old structures just as this historic bait and tackle.