Will Cortez businesses get to stay after Manatee buys the Shack? Eviction notice served
Multiple businesses surrounding an iconic Cortez restaurant are facing eviction shortly after Manatee County officials agreed to buy the business to build public boat ramps.
Earlier this month, Manatee County announced a purchase agreement to buy the Shack, a restaurant, bar and marina in Cortez. Business owners told the Bradenton Herald they received letters to vacate their leased property by Sept. 30, but that eviction notice didn’t come from county officials.
Business owners around the restaurant have leased their space from Vandyk Properties, which has owned the Shack for about 10 years. Vandyk Properties sent eviction notices to the businesses through a law firm.
“Please be advised that the leasehold property is being sold,” reads the letter from a lawyer for Vandyk Properties. “As part of this transaction, we are obligated to terminate your tenancy and provide vacant possession effective September 30, 2024.”
The law firm did not respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment Wednesday morning.
Manatee County commissioners unanimously approved the Shack’s purchase with plans to turn part of the 8.9-acre property into a public boat ramp. The expected closing date for the sale is Oct. 7.
“I’ve seen these handovers before, where one has to terminate a tenancy so the new one can pick it up,” said Kaitlin Leary, who owns YOLO Parasailing & Adventures near the Shack. “So nobody really panicked.”
Property owners served Cortez eviction notices
But Leary said that changed after the business owners near the Shack wrote emails Friday after receiving the eviction message to introduce themselves, including how many years they’ve been in business there.
“(Tuesday) morning I got an email saying, ‘Yes, everyone has to vacate,’” Leary said. “‘We cannot close on the property until the entirety of the property is vacated.”
James Morgenroth, owner of Pirate Adventures of Cortez, added that the situation has left owners wondering when they’ll be able to sign new lease agreements with Manatee County Government and resume business operations.
“More of the issue is not knowing when a new lease is going to start,” Morgenroth said. “That uncertainty exactly as to whether we’re going to have to close down for four weeks or months or whatever.”
Morgenroth spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting before commissioners approved the purchase. On Tuesday, he reiterated he doesn’t mind that the county owns the property to have another public space on the water.
“But with that comes knowing that I have somewhere to continue operating my business where I’ve been operating already for five years,” Morgenroth said.
Can existing businesses stay at the Shack?
In a statement to the Herald, county spokesperson Bill Logan said the county intends to establish new contracts with legacy and/or new vendors after they take ownership.
Morgenroth said the businesses operated under 2- or 3-year leases in the past, but since the sale was announced in May, that has shifted to a month-to-month basis.
Vandyk Properties would not agree to an extension on the sale date, the county said in a statement.
As the Manatee County Commission approved the sale agreement during a Sept. 5 board meeting, Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he expected the existing businesses to remain in the area.
“I assume the board will just act as a landlord and essentially create a revenue source by leasing slips and continue to lease space to those businesses that are already there,” Van Ostenbridge said at the time.
Logan said any development changes in the area would not happen anytime soon. Over the next year or two, county staff will work to create a “comprehensive overview” of the boat ramp plans that will involve community input, he said.
“No work will commence before neighbors, nearby HOAs and other stakeholders are informed of the impact(s) anticipated and allowed an ample opportunity to engage in that planning process,” Logan said.
Vandyk, which has offices in Canada and Sarasota, purchased the Seafood Shack, founded in 1971, for $4 million in 2014, according to a previous Herald report. The company put the property up for sale in May.
An appraiser valued the property, which includes a 120-slip marina, 650-seat restaurant and banquet hall with indoor and outdoor seating, at $12.55 million. The county verbally agreed in June to purchase it for $13 million.
