The restaurant has hosted presidents, governors, senators, congressmen and other celebrities. During the 2008 presidential election, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson held campaign fundraisers there. In 2012, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, with Sen. McCain and actor Jon Voight, held a rally on The Fish House deck, pictures of which appeared in the Washington Post and New York Times.
Pensacola native, former congressman and author Joe Scarborough has hosted his MSNBC show “Morning Joe” several times from the restaurant. “American Pickers” filmed an episode from The Fish House, which featured the Merrill brothers trading some of their Star Wars memorabilia for a model of the USS Alabama. The Travel Channel aired an episode of “Bizarre Foods” that featured the Fish House’s grouper throats that Host Andrew Zimmern described the throats as having “better flavor than the filets themselves.”
The restaurant is in the Seville Harbour complex built on Pitt Slip, the inlet across from the town’s historic district and outside the gates of the Port of Pensacola. In the 1980s, the Pensacola City Council wanted a marina and commercial development built on Pitt Slip. The project passed through several developers hands before the two buildings and marina were completed.
On April 26, 1989, Pennsylvania natives Rick and Karen George opened Ye Old Beef & Ale House at the spot where The Fish House now stands. Rick was leader of The Mighty Mudsharks and Karen waited tables at McGuire’s and Darryl’s. The pub served initially Cheezits, peanuts, deli sandwiches and salads. In 1994, it hosted a three-day music festival – Octoberfest at The Ale House – which stared Delbert McClinton and Asleep at the Wheel.
In January 1998, Chef Jim Shirley rented the space in the Seville Harbour building. He opened The Fish House with Brian Spencer and Dr. Roger Orth as his investors. By the spring, Merrill brothers stepped in as investors, forming Great Southern Restaurant Group of Pensacola, Inc. that put about $2 million into the restaurant. Spencer and Orth focused on Jackson’s, a restaurant they were opening on Palafox.
Collier Merrill was one of the initial investors in Inweekly, which published its first issue about the time the Merrills took over the seafood restaurant. He shared with me that his goal was for The Fish House to be for the seafood what McGuire’s Irish Pub was for steaks.
Joe Scarborough’s band “Joe” played regularly at the restaurant in the early days. Its signature dish is Grits a Ya Ya, which has been served to dignitaries in NYC and D.C.
Over the years, the Merrill Brothers have added the Atlas Oyster House and The Fish House Deck to offer more dining experiences. Its Ladies Night became a weekly tradition in the late 2000s. Inweekly launched the Pensacola Young Professionals on its deck and had most of its parties and award shows on its deck until the crowds got too big. It’s one of the favorite spots during Pensacon -with its Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones memorabilia.
When Walker Holmes wants to treat his staff, he takes them to The Fish House.