105716108

My grandparents opened this restaurant back in 1949. Before they turned it into a restaurant the pier was used as the main commercial fishing dock for importing seafood into the city. When the restaurant first opened it was just a little seafood shack called The Old Spanish Landing. There was open air seating over the water and it had a little Maritime Museum, a gift shop,and a turtle in a pen. After being opened for a while they got the idea to throw old bread down to the fish that swam around the building and so started the tradition of "Feed the fish while you dine". Hundreds of fish come up to be fed, mostly Catfish and Mullet but there are also plenty of Trout, Sheephead, Reds and just about any kind of saltwater fish you can imagine. Some time in the mid 50s my grandfather made friends with a man who owned a boat that was a replica of the Santa Maria ship and allowed him to dock it behind the restaurant. People in town got into the habit of saying they were going to the Santa Maria and so he eventually changed the name of the restaurant. This is what it looked like in the 50s.    Some remodling was done and this is kinda what it looked like in the 60s until....   In 1964 Saint Augustine suffered its first major Hurricane, Hurricane Dora. This is what the restaurant looked like after the hurricane.            After Hurricane Dora my grandparents rebuilt the restaurant. It has always been a family run restaurant providing jobs for us all, Grandparents, Mom & Dad, Myself and my brothers, aunts, nieces, in-laws as well as many friends.In 1970 my grandfather died and my grandmother along with my Dad and Mom took over operations. My father being the builder at heart that he is has made the place what it is today after many many remodels. My grandmother passed away in fall of 2001. Since then my parents Carl & Sylvia, Me(Cyndi) and my 2 brothers David and Gator have been keeping the restaurant afloat. It has been a struggle to say the least and honestly every year gets harder. Corporate America is definatley taking over. The rich get richer...the poor get poorer. But, there's something to say for a family run business. It still has heart. You can feel it when you walk through the doors.

I made my myspace layout using Pimp-My-Profile.com