ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — As the din created by lunch in the summer season at Doc’s Seafood Shack in Orange Beach swirled around him, co-owner Richard Schwartz tried to take a phone call.

“I’m standing here in the middle of Doc’s lunch and it’s so busy,” he said. “Remember what Yogi Berra used to say about a place? This place is so busy, nobody goes there anymore. That’s how it is at Doc’s.”

But people still flock to Doc’s daily for lunch and nightly for dinner despite the crowd. Friday night 650 guests dined at the iconic restaurant on the north side of Canal Road at Alabama 161 and a few yards away from the south bank of Wolf Bay.

Schwartz hopes the threat of a bridge over that same Wolf Bay won’t stop he and partner J Schenck and their army of loyal employees from continuing to serve up the good stuff at one of Orange Beach’s busiest restaurants.

“I’m just kind of at a loss for words,” Schwartz said. “We’ve been open since 1984 I believe. Now we must look at losing our access because the bridge and its accesses will simply cut us off.”

City officials looking to alleviate summer traffic headaches believe the first step in harnessing those problems is a bridge over Wolf Bay. Its landing would pretty much have to be in the area where Doc’s has been in those 29 years.

It’s not that Schwartz doesn’t want the bridge or doesn’t believe it is needed.

“They say the bridge is the right thing to do,” he said. “I believe it is. They think it’s necessary. I think it is. I agree, but the state doesn’t have the money. But when the state gets supplemental money they’re going to do something.”

All of his talks with city and state officials have been cordial.

“I’ve been treated nice by everybody,” Schwartz said. “Everybody’s nice, but nobody wants to give me property for what we have built.”

His biggest fear is that the city or state or some government entity will start condemnation proceedings to claim his property, including the wildly successful Doc’s.

“I’m not saying anything negative about anybody because everybody’s been very good,” he said. “My only problem is that I kind of feel like I’m on an island here. And the word condemnation is not a good word.”

He has had conversations with Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, Gov. Robert Bentley and officials at the Alabama Department of Transportation.

“I know that Tony has been terrific and his idea is that it’s got to work for everybody and that’s fine,” Schwartz said. “His feeling is if the city has any land left, he would give me the land and he would like for me to be able to stay in business, but there is still the question of accessibility.

“But the fact of the matter is every engineer I talked to says there’s no way this can co-exist. The state will not allow it.”

Kennon wants to see Doc’s remain as it is if that is at all possible.

“The ultimate goal would be to work it out where he can stay where he’s at,” Kennon said. “I really don’t want to have to see him move. We’ll cross that bridge, no pun intended, when we get to it.

“If we have to move, then we’ll move. We want it to be a very fair and equitable situation for both of us. I think Richard knows that I really care about him and Doc’s is an institution and we don’t want to hurt him in any way.”

If it comes to down to a move, Schwartz says he wants a fair selling assessment and payment for the Doc’s property and business value.

“I would like to see them have my property appraised, the business appraised and get paid the appraised price,” he said. “The other thing I’d like to do is relocate. But there is no guarantee when you relocate a business you will be doing as well as you’re doing. When you move it, you lose it. That sounds like a country song, doesn’t it?”

And what about his employees, several of whom have worked for Schwartz for 10 years or more, some even more than 20?

“Somehow or another we must take care of people,” he said. “My employees have been here a long time, basically. A lot of them have. It’s a real concern to me.”

Even if Doc’s somehow stays or does have to relocate, there will be down time for those valued employees.

“If the bridge does shut us down for the two years by shutting us off, then what are my employees going to do while they are building the bridge?” he asked. “It’s really like a three-edge sword and it feels uncomfortable. This is really a family business.”

Schwartz and Schenck own four restaurants on Pleasure Island, another Doc’s at Sawgrass near the zoo in Gulf Shores, Bubba’s Seafood on beach road in Orange Beach and Franco’s Italian Restaurant in the Wal-Mart shopping center, also on beach road in Orange Beach. They have owned as many as nine restaurants and Doc’s is the lead dog, Schwartz said.