Alan Moore of Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant explains family's decision to sell

Alan Moore, who sold his Moore's Stone Crab restaurant, can't wait to spend time with his new granddaughter Noel and his 80-year-old mother, Mary.

But first he'll have to get used to not going to work.

"Last night was the first night I've not had to go to work," Moore said. "It was bizarre."

He said the family will take some time to decompress and get used to their new schedule before jumping into any new initiatives, and it likely won't be in the restaurant business.

Mark Caragiulo and Tom Leonard approached the Moore family last summer about purchasing Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant. Caragiulo and Leonard were looking for a beachfront property, but at the time the Moores weren't interested in selling.

Over the following year, a lot changed for the family who hails from Cortez and has roots in the seafood industry all the way back to the 1920s, when Moore said his grandfather began wholesale crabbing.

After finishing the 2014-2015 season, Moore said his family began to re-think the idea of selling the 185-seat restaurant on Longboat Key which employed about 55 workers annually.

"We worked the winter and then had some bad health problems in the family," Moore said. "One of my brothers was in and out of the hospital, we've got to have some skin cancer surgeries on some of us, my first grandbaby was born this year and my mom is 80 years old -- and I want to spend some time with her."

The Moores reconvened with Caragiulo and Leonard after season and brokered a deal for an undisclosed amount. The age of the building and a need for electrical and plumbing work also led to the decision to sell.

"It needs a lot of plumbing and re-wiring and we didn't think we'd get an opportunity like this," Moore said. "And we've lost a lot of waterfront restaurants out here and Longboat Key doesn't

want to lose another."

But Bradenton-area and Longboat Key's stone crab lovers need not worry about the disappearance of their favorite crustacean from dinner plates.

"After 48 years, Moore's Stone Crab is closed, but the new restaurant is still going to feature stone crabs as a majority feature and we'll consult with them about how to do that," Moore said.

Caragiulo told the Herald that the new restaurant, yet unnamed, will be a "sexier, seafood-y" version of the current Shore Diner on St. Armands Circle.

With such a successful history in the area, the Moores are full of nothing but gratitude to their customers, supporters and their employees.

"We really want to thank our employees," Moore said. "We had the best employees ever. People don't want to go out to a restaurant and have bad service, and we were blessed to have exceptional employees."

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Alan Moore of Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant explains family's decision to sell ."