Fort Pierce city commissioners voted unanimously to terminate the 20-year lease held by the operator of Crabby's Dockside, the waterfront restaurant at Avenue A at the Fort Pierce Marina that closed back in February after falling deep into debt to the city. The move ends a contract that was originally supposed to run through 2040 and clears the way for a new tenant search at one of downtown Fort Pierce's most visible dining spots.
The city initially said operator Winking Starfish owed more than $418,000 in back rent, taxes and late fees, according to WPBF 25 News. Fort Pierce later recalculated that figure down to nearly $334,000, the city said. The commission approved the original 20-year lease with Winking Starfish, LLC in December 2018 for the city-owned property, which carried two five-year renewal options and an initial base rent of $159,558 annually, according to Fort Pierce Watch.
A $4 Million Building Now Reverts to the City
Construction on the site began in August 2019 and the restaurant opened in June 2020, with parent company Beachside Hospitality Group ultimately spending more than $4 million to build the facility on municipal land, according to the Florida Concrete & Products Association. With the lease now terminated, that fully built waterfront restaurant reverts to city control.
Crabby's Dockside permanently closed in February after city officials issued a default notice showing the restaurant was five months behind on rent and had not reimbursed required property taxes for more than three years, per the St. Lucie Voice's reporting. Commissioners stressed during public meetings that the shutdown stemmed from the tenant's default rather than any eviction action initiated by the city, the outlet reported.
A City Billing Error Added to the Tab
A City Billing Error Added to the Tab Part of the back-tax burden traces to an administrative lapse on the city's own end. Fort Pierce paid St. Lucie County property taxes on time in 2023 and 2024 but did not invoice Crabby's for reimbursement until July 2025, leaving the restaurant to face three years of back taxes within a five-month window, CBS12 reported.
Before defaulting, the operator had sought relief. In September 2025, Beachside Hospitality Group asked Fort Pierce for an 18-month rent abatement, citing parking constraints, area homelessness, the tax billing dispute, and delays in the adjacent King's Landing redevelopment, Fort Pierce Watch reported. City leaders rejected the abatement request and instead gave the operator a series of windows to line up a replacement tenant, the outlet said.
Those windows stretched over months. Fort Pierce granted Winking Starfish a 90-day extension in April, a 60-day extension in July, and a 30-day extension in September to negotiate an assignment, according to WQCS. City staff said they received preliminary proposals from potential assignees but could not finalize a deal because of missing financial data, the station reported. Winking Starfish did identify a potential new operator for the restaurant, but city officials said the proposal sought favorable terms, per WPBF 25 News.
What Comes Next for the Waterfront Site
Chess told commissioners during the meeting that interested restaurateurs will now compete for the location, and that the city plans to set requirements for potential operators before the commission makes a final call. He said a new agreement would combine rent and other payments into a single amount based on the property's market value, according to WPBF 25 News's report on the meeting. Terminating the 20-year lease wipes out an estimated $3.1 million in expected revenue over the life of the original contract, a sum Fort Pierce must now try to replace through a competitive bidding process, Hometown News St. Lucie County reports.
Mayor Linda Hudson said the marina is very successful and that the Crabby's Dockside location is a critical part of it, per WPBF 25 News. A municipal title search completed during the default process confirmed no third-party mortgages or mechanic's liens are attached to the property, according to Hometown News St. Lucie County, meaning Fort Pierce holds clean legal title as it prepares to issue a new Request for Proposals.
The vacancy lands amid broader turbulence along the downtown waterfront. The restaurant site sits next to the long-delayed $155 million King's Landing mixed-use project, which hit renewed trouble in August when developer Live Oak Development encountered a $15 million funding shortfall for its hotel and restaurant phase, according to Sunland News. The 7.5-acre project on the former H.D. King Power Plant site had been re-approved under a revised phased timeline in September 2025, the outlet noted.
Fort Pierce has navigated similar transitions before. City leaders have previously managed operator transfers through lease amendments at other municipal waterfront properties, including Cobb's Landing at the marina and Little Jim Bait & Tackle, Sunland News reported. Officials have said they hoped to mirror those earlier assignment structures at Crabby's Dockside but required full financial vetting before approving any transfer, something that ultimately did not happen before the lease was terminated.
