The city plans to demolish the building that houses Brett’s Waterway Café in Fernandina Beach. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on March 7, 2025 at 10:28 am
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The city manager of Fernandina Beach confirmed Thursday that the building where Brett’s Waterway Café is located will be demolished.
The Fernandina Beach City Commission voted unanimously last week to emphasize the urgency of addressing the demolition and determining the future of the riverfront location, according to the Fernandina Observer.
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City Manager Sarah Campbell said the building is expected to be torn down sometime next year, News4Jax reported.
According to Campbell, the building currently has two tenants: a small shop up front and Brett’s Waterway Café, which is owned by Center Street Restaurant Group.
In July 2021, the Fernandina Beach restaurant was declared structurally unsafe due to the “active collapse of concrete double-tee structure member.” The notice also said there was an elevated risk of substructure failure, collateral damage and needed repairs.
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The restaurant had until Sept. 2, 2021, to repair the building.
A few years after that, the restaurant group filed a complaint against the city asking for arbitration, saying the city “wrongfully caused great damage to Brett’s business.”
Campbell said a company is looking into how to properly demolish the building without damaging the docks around it.
The city manager also said the commission hasn’t decided what will happen after the building is demolished. City officials hope hope to engage with the public in the future to decide that.
This story was produced by News4Jax, a Jacksonville Today news partner.
