SPANISH FORT — Ed's Seafood Shed may have just celebrated one year in its new location, but the eatery has been satiating hungry bellies with gumbo and fried seafood for 24 years.

The original Ed's Seafood Shed was the dream of Ed and Barbara Bridges. The couple opened the doors to the Causeway restaurant in 2000, serving up Southern hospitality, free coleslaw and "amazing fried seafood cooked the old Mobile Way."

In 2018, "Panini" Pete Blohme and Nick DiMario of PP Hospitality purchased the business. It had fallen on tough times, and the facility was in rough shape. Those Causeway businesses take a beating from the weather.

(From left) Nick DiMario and "Panini" Pete Blohme.

Blohme and DiMario decided to give themselves two years to turn it around or they would rebrand the business. They updated the facility, added new menu items, kept what worked and brought the brand back. They were on a roll, but an early morning fire rendered the facility unusable.

"It was a horrific day. The place burned down. We literally sat in the parking lot," DiMario recalled. "When we first bought it, we embraced it. I felt like we revived it."

Revive it they had. PP Hospitality had invested money in covering the
to make it more pleasant during sunny days and breathing life back into the bar. No one was injured in the 2021 fire because the building went ablaze before staff arrived. Not even the resident pet turtles were harmed.

They and the legacy of Ed's now live in a new location.

The initial plan was to rebuild. Then the plan was to rebuild a new, higher-end restaurant and relocate Ed's.

Then reality surfaced its ugly head.

DiMario said they realized it wasn't economically feasible to rebuild anything at the Causeway location, and they placed it on the market.

When they learned of a space coming available just up the road in Spanish Fort, a new vision started to form.

"We just said let's make the new 2.0 version of Ed's, meaning let's make it bigger and better," DiMario said. "But you know, every day you still have got to be able to deliver that great product."

Ed's Seafood Shed may have a new and snazzy location with a massive central bar, party room and glass garage doors that open when the weather is perfect, but it still sings the same song, just maybe a little more in tune now. Longtime patrons can find the same gumbo recipe lovingly made, complimentary coleslaw and crackers delivered to your table and the best fried shrimp.

PP Hospitality has always been active with the community, but they have upped the level with the new Ed's Seafood Shed location. You will often find DiMario and Blohme at Spanish Fort football games and hosting fundraisers at the restaurant. They have embedded into the Spanish Fort community to ensure Ed's is around for another 24 years and beyond.