CORTEZ – The demolition of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop on April 16 marked a sad day in Cortez as years of memories for many were reduced to a pile of rubble.
More than a 70-year-old building, Annie’s held a wide array of meaning for those who came to watch the demolition. For some, it was the first stop for a day on the water for ice, beer, gas and bait; for others it was a spot to unwind on the patio for dinner and drinks and for many, it was one of the last standing local tributes to Florida heritage.
“They’re taking away everything that’s old Florida in Cortez,” Greg Hermes said. “What’s to say they won’t take away the village next?”
Annie’s is on the Seafood Shack parcel that was purchased by the county on Dec. 31, 2024 for $13 million and is slated to become a public boat launch facility to be named Cortez Marina. Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 on March 4 against entering into a lease agreement with Annie’s and in favor of demolishing the hurricane-impacted building. Commissioner Jason Bearden cast the dissenting vote.
That vote followed a January directive by county commissioners to have staff explore options to bring Annie’s up to code.
Standing across the street from the business he owned for 30 years, Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, watched with his daughter, Anna Gaffey, and 25-30 Cortez residents and friends as an excavator bucket tore through the building.
Within an hour, the building was demolished.
“I almost wish it had just come down in a hurricane so we wouldn’t have had to watch this,” Gaffey said.
Many in attendance hugged Shearer and shook his hand while thanking him for the years of memories at Annie’s.
The large yellow Annie’s sign that hung over the door was caught in the rubble. Shearer walked across the street to retrieve it but was sent back from the site by a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy for safety reasons. One worker took the battered sign off the pile and brought it across the street to Shearer.
A woman, who said she worked at Annie’s for eight years, tearfully said as she walked away, “I can’t watch this anymore.”
Shearer had said he offered to make repairs to both the building and the county-owned docks at his own expense but was declined by the county.
“They (Manatee County) had a plan. They put us through a dog and pony show to appease people,” Shearer said earlier this month.
During the demolition, attendees expressed anger at the Manatee County Commission and in particular, District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique, who represents Cortez. Some attendees were wearing stickers that said, “No Tal. Anyone but Tal, 2028.”
Shearer said he had extended an invitation through the person in charge of the demolition for Siddique to watch the building come down.
Siddique did not attend, but sent the following email to the Sun: “The future is still bright for the Cortez community. Today we can begin to move forward with plans to bring amenities the community has been asking for and do it in a way to be resilient against future storms.”
Spray-painted on the side of Annie’s building was “45.8% FEMA,” referring to the evaluation of storm damage to the building.
“It was less than 50% and we should have been able to fix it up,” Shearer said.
In an April 9 email to The Sun, Manatee County spokesperson Bill Logan addressed the damage estimate and wrote: “The Substantial Damage Estimator (SDE) on January 29, 2025, originally was shown as 45.8% on the building addressed as 4334 127th Street West. The other address shown at this location was 4330 127th Street West with 41.6% SDE. These 2 estimates at the same building were based on visual and high-water marks during the Substantial Damage Assessment.
“The engineering report was used to correctly identify the level of damage and this information was entered into the FEMA Substantial Damage Estimator. The new level of damage for the entire building was reflected on SDE report at 100% on 3/16/25. The Substantial Damage letter will reflect the 100% repair costs to building value.”
The Sun made a public records request on April 10 for the Substantial Damage letter and engineering report referenced by Logan, but as of April 16, nothing was received.
“We are saddened by all the losses caused by the busiest and most destructive hurricane season on record,” Logan wrote on April 9. “We will host nine outreach events to gather input from Manatee County residents on the future of this property and look forward to giving our community additional access to the water for boating and recreation.”
