BRADENTON — At Tuesday’s Manatee County Commission meeting, board members were given a presentation they had requested from staff for possible alternative structures on which to operate Annie’s Bait & Tackle in Cortez.
After agreeing with owner Bruce Shear that the options as presented were unviable for both parties, the board voted to move forward with plans to demolish the iconic structure and consider ways a similar concept could be developed within the site plan for the upcoming boat ramp/marina. The county had become the de facto landlord after purchasing the Seafood Shack and its associated properties to develop a new public boat ramp.
Commissioners were shown a concept by Fawley Bryant that would have included a temporary dock that would essentially include a food truck, a portable bathroom station, and some covered picnic tables at a cost of $145-253,000. Staff explained that even that concept would be challenged in that temporary structures are only supposed to be leased for up to 180 days while finalizing a permanent option, and that impacts to the site during the construction of the boat ramp and marina could present further challenges.
Commissioner Jason Bearden, who has been the most enthusiastic supporter of saving the beloved institution, pled with fellow board members to come together and find a way to make it happen…