Gulf Coast Seafood (4921 9th Ave S.) is a Gulfport icon dating back to 1978. Originally a small seafood retail store, it has grown into Southwest Florida’s premier seafood distributor, serving wholesale buyers and discerning locals. Grouper, snapper, and other fish are processed on-site, along with various catches from around the world.
Co-owners John and Carol Merkle always dreamed of being in the seafood business. With help from their parents, they kept eager customers satisfied with fresh catches off their stone crab boat, hauling up the traps by hand. Continued success allowed John and Carol to open a take-out restaurant. But the evolution of their business didn’t stop there.
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Retail to wholesale and back again
After squirreling away money over the years, John and Carol purchased a commercial fishing boat, which allowed them to expand their products to include grouper and snapper, among other delights from the Gulf. The commercial fishing boat enabled them to evolve into a fully fledged wholesale business. However, the transition to wholesale came at the expense of the retail store and restaurant.
While they sell in bulk to restaurants, resorts, and other stores, they’ve come full circle to their roots, reviving the retail store that started their journey in the seafood business. Their Gulfport location displays fresh fish (fillet and whole), shrimp, oysters, clams, live lobsters (Maine lobsters can be steamed on request), and freezers packed with fan-favorite items.
Check out what the Gulf Coast Seafood has to offer here.
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