March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 45 F

Rockfish Confirms Sale And Closing

rockfishThe Rockfish will be no more after this weekend.  Citing a myriad of issues, Greg Casten, owner of the restaurant has sold the restaurant. The last day of business will be Saturday and Casten is telling everyone to come in to say their last goodbyes.

Recently, the restaurant came close to closing when a grant for $400,000 for renovating the exterior of the building was almost de-funded due to the inability of the City to connect with the property owner.  The City came through literally at the 11th hour and the permits were issued. This grant is to allow The Rockfish to modify their parking lot, landscaping, and exterior to be a zero-runoff property. All rainwater will be reclaimed and re-used in irrigation with no runoff into the Chesapeake Bay or the tributaries.

Casten had been pursuing this grant for nearly 4 years when it became evident that it would defund. In a May 1st email Casten alluded to the fact that he was contemplating a move.

So you are all aware the Grant de-funds (if you will) on June 2 – we have worked on this for over five years – be a shame to see it go down the toilet for lack of movement by a local government who has had this in their possession and knowledge for over three full years .

People wonder why Annapolis is such a painful place to want to come as a businessman.  Few non residents have worked more diligently to be a part of the community than us – from our Green status, to the Red Roof we agreed to the changing of a nightmare of an operation and location – few.

This last round with Annapolis city has taken all the wind out of my sails – time for another to fight against the wind.

I am not at all optimistic that this will get done.

In early August, a rumor began swirling that The Rockfish was closing. The public answer was that they were closing for renovations and would re-open. However, it made no sense to close down just before two of the busiest weeks of the year (boat show).

In late August, the website was taken down.

According to a story on the Annapolis Patch, Casten declined to name the new owners, but did say that it would not remain The Rockfish and would be a more bar-centric, less expensive dining experience.

Previous Article

Harvest Of Artists Scheduled For September 13-15

Next Article

Regional Recap, September 5, 2013

You might be interested in …