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Memories demolished along with Annie’s

Memories demolished along with Annie’s

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Featured.

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?”

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
The excavator tore through Annie’s and the memoires created there. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
Annie’s owner, Bruce Shearer (in hat), watches with friends behind the salvaged Annie’s sign as the building is demolished. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
Annie’s owner, Bruce Shearer (in black shirt and hat), has a beer with friends to toast Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop. – Leslie Lake | Sun

A woman, who said she worked at Annie’s for eight years, tearfully said as she walked away, “I can’t watch this anymore.”

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
The demolition of Annie’s marked the end of an era. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
Demolition debris from Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop is loaded into a dump truck for disposal. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
The excavator begins demolition of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.”

Memories demolished along with Annie’s
As the day wore on, less of Annie’s Bait and Tackle remained. – Leslie Lake | Sun

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.”

Annie’s Bait and Tackle given 30-day notice for demolition

Annie’s Bait and Tackle given 30-day notice for demolition

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Community News, Cortez.

CORTEZ – Manatee County has issued a 30- day demolition notice for the removal of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop.

“We haven’t received the letter yet, but I was told it’s coming,” Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, said on March 15. He doesn’t know the final date yet.

The Manatee County Commission voted 6-1 on March 4 for the demolition of the 70-year-old Cortez landmark, which is sited on the Seafood Shack parcel that was recently purchased by the county for $13 million and is slated to become a public boat launch facility. The vote followed recommendations by a structural engineer, the Florida Division of Emer­gency Management and fire officials based on damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year.

Shearer took issue with the county’s characterization that the building was beyond repair.

“Their own report says it’s under the 50% damage,” he said. “That building is solid as a rock. It’s an old wooden building. It’s history they’re taking away there.”

Shearer said he felt that the commission’s intent was always to remove Annie’s from the property.

“I think it was a dog and pony show all the way through,” Shearer said. “They wasted everyone’s time. We were railroaded. Tal (Manatee County Com­missioner Tal Siddique) was bound and determined to turn that into concrete.”

Shearer’s daughter, Anna Gaffey, told The Sun on March 13 she felt the hurricane damage was a convenient excuse for the county to have Annie’s removed.

“We believe the plan was to get us out, and the hurricanes were the perfect excuse,” she said.

She said she reached out to Manatee County Commissioner Jason Bearden, the sole dissenting vote against the demolition, to question the less than 50% damage estimate.

“He told me he’d love to bring it back, but he doesn’t have the support of the other commissioners,” Gaffey said. “It was heartbreaking.”

“We gave Bruce a 30-day notice,” Siddique wrote in a March 13 text message to The Sun. “I notified his daughter; we’ve been in close contact. They’re mad understandably, but it’s a lot of misunder­standing.”

“When it’s demolished, I want to invite him (Siddique) and his family to watch my family’s building being torn down,” Shearer said.

Shearer said his offer to make repairs at his own expense was declined by the county.

“I offered to repair the building and the docks to keep going,” he said. “I don’t own the docks, but I was willing to fix them. With the lease payments I would have been making, that would have been about half a million dollars total. And they turned it down.”

Annie’s Bait and Tackle given 30-day notice for demolition
Annie’s Bait and Tackle is part of the Seafood Shack property now owned by the county. – Leslie Lake | Sun

He said county workers moved his personal items and restaurant equipment out of Annie’s without his knowledge and the items were placed in storage waiting for his retrieval.

“I’m going to have to go get the things and I’ll probably be selling some of the items,” he said.

Shearer said he has been looking for a spot to open another Annie’s but has had no luck.

“There’s nothing around,” he said.

Annie’s Bait and Tackle given 30-day notice for demolition
Annie’s Bait and Tackle sustained damage during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. – Leslie Lake | Sun

Shearer said locals are not happy about the demolition order and he half-jokingly said he may fill his truck up with ice to chill the beer for 500 Cortezians who could show up to watch Annie’s come down.

“Nobody has anything good to say about this,” Shearer said.

Related coverage:
County decides to demolish iconic Annie’s in Cortez

 

County staff inspects Annie's Bait and Tackle

County staff inspects Annie’s Bait and Tackle

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Community News, Cortez, Featured.

CORTEZ – Just one day after the Manatee County Board of Commissioners’ Jan. 28 vote to direct staff to explore ways to bring the hurricane-damaged Annie’s Bait and Tackle up to code, a contingent of county staff met Commissioner Tal Siddique to inspect the building.

Annie’s is part of the Seafood Shack parcel that the county recently purchased to create a public boating facility.

“Commissioner Bearden made a motion, within 30 days to present all options for a feasible rebuild to keep Annie’s here was the directive,” Siddique said. “We’re doing our due diligence.”

The inspections will be repeated six more times. In accordance with Sunshine Law, each commissioner will meet with county staff and tour the building separately.

“We’re here to tour the facility,” Siddique said. “We have our natural resources, our building official, our county administrator, all of our county leadership here, plus me as district commissioner. The fire marshal will be out here.”

Siddique said he met with Annie’s co-owner Bruce Shearer during the inspection.

“I feel for him. Just looking at these reports, looking at what the experts are telling me, the building officials and more, this isn’t just a matter of replacing some two-by-fours,” he said.

Shearer has said he would be able to repair the building at a cost of around $5,000 and is hoping to be allowed to do so.

“We have a responsibility to make sure we’re protecting the neighboring communities and we’re upholding all the progress we made in the Community Rating System and we’re not putting that at risk,” Siddique said. “This has to be FEMA compliant. If we break the law, everybody in Manatee County loses their flood insurance.”

He said Annie’s will not be fenced off, allowing Shearer to access the building.

“I ran on preserving our small town feel here and I’m trying to do what we can to keep Annie’s here, but these old school style of buildings, we know they’re not going to last with the way these hurricanes are going,” Siddique said.

Siddique said the dock repairs would require an emergency Army Corps of Engineers permit.

“I don’t want to pre-suppose the board,” Siddique said. “I think what you’re going to see is county come forward with all the pros and cons the proffers we’re making to Bruce (Shearer).”

Cortez Trailer Park

Cortezians wary of FDOT, weary of fight

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Transportation.

CORTEZ – Now that the word is out, many people east of the Cortez Bridge feel hurt that the new 65-foot-tall span will be a “mega-bridge” and many are taking a wait-and-see attitude, saying they will likely not live to see it.

At a meeting of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (F.I.S.H.) on Monday, May 7, the president took that stand, saying, “I feel like batting my head against a wall, but then I think they might not build it in my lifetime.”

Replacing an “obsolete” drawbridge like the current bridge takes a lot of time.

Nothing at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) gets done without budget money and that takes time. There is money for the design phase, and more money in the 2020 and 2021 budgets for obtaining rights of way.

Karen Bell, who owns a fish house in Cortez, said she is tired of the fight saying, “We’ve been through this over and over.”

Artist Linda Molto, an ardent anti-tall-bridge activist, said the cards are stacked against them. She said she heard that the city of Bradenton Beach was against the tall bridge and they are on the other side of the bridge.

“We need to talk with Mayor (John) Chappie,” she said. “We could join forces.”

In Holmes Beach, Commissioner Judy Titsworth wants to send a letter from the city to the state to oppose the building of the large bridge. Commissioner Carol Soustek agreed saying that she attended the FDOT bridge meetings and didn’t hear many people who were in favor of the large bridge. She said most people were in favor of the 35-foot clearance drawbridge because it seemed to be the best compromise between residents, business owners and FDOT.

“No one endorsed the 65-foot bridge,” Soustek said. “The DOT did that on their own.”

Commissioners agreed unanimously to sign and send a letter.

In Cortez, Tide Tables restaurant is closest to the water on the south side of the bridge. Owner Bobby Woodson said he has mixed feelings.

Bobby Woodson
Woodson

“It might make it easier to get in and out of our parking lot,” he said. “They are going to make a roadway that goes north and south under the bridge, so people won’t have to fight the traffic to get here or leave.”

But, he said he’s disappointed because the new bridge will be out of proportion for the historic fishing village.

He said he feels the high bridge is not the solution to gridlock.

“We need another bridge from Longboat Key to the mainland to keep those people off Anna Maria Island when they go to the mainland,” he said.

East of Tide Tables, the Cortez Trailer Park would be affected by the new bridge because they have two entrances that might have to be connected to a side road that would connect with Cortez Road because the road would be elevated from descending the tall bridge.

Bruce Shearer, owner of Annie’s Bait and Tackle said he might not be alive to see the new bridge. He said the new bridge might make it easier to get into or out of Annie’s, but the tall structure would not fit in with Cortez.

Bruce Shearer
Shearer

“I went to hearings 30 years ago and we told them we didn’t want the tall bridge, but the Manatee Avenue Bridge would be better because it’s longer and there aren’t any buildings nearby,” he said. “They agreed to build the Manatee Avenue Bridge high and that’s what’s happening, but now they’re back and will do the same with this bridge.”

He said the tall bridge isn’t the solution.

“They can build it as high as they want, but there will still be cars backed up to the fire station every day,” he said. “They need to build a bridge from Longboat Key to the mainland where all that new development will be.”