FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — The City of Fort Pierce is facing a nearly $200,000 financial hit in unpaid rent and taxes following the abrupt closure of Crabby’s Dockside. As city leaders prepare for a public meeting tonight, the City Manager has walked back previous claims regarding the cause of the shutdown, admitting that a city billing oversight contributed to the restaurant’s exit.
The lease agreement between the city and Crabby’s Dockside required the City of Fort Pierce to pay property taxes upfront, with the restaurant later reimbursing those costs. While St. Lucie County records confirm the city paid the 2023 and 2024 tax bills on time, the city failed to invoice Crabby’s for reimbursement for years.
The city did not send a bill to the restaurant until July 2025, with another following in December. This administrative delay effectively demanded three years of back taxes from the business within a single five-month period—a sudden financial burden the restaurant says it couldn’t sustain…