A Makeover for the Second-Best Place to Buy Fish in San Diego?

Point Loma Seafoods today...

…and tomorrow?

I’ve written about my favorite place to buy fish in San Diego.  But that’s strictly a retail (or closer to wholesale) experience. If you want to place to either buy fish or sit and chow down, Point Loma Seafoods is tops.  But I just heard it’s about to be torn down.

The owners of the 47-year-old Shelter Island institution plan to replace it with something bigger and more modern. Yesterday port commissioners approved of the concept for the $2.7 million project, which reportedly will incorporate a new outdoor dining area with a fire pit and seating wall, new interior space, a new kitchen, a second story “viewing terrace,” a lighthouse tower (!), and public art. Construction could start by the end of the year, with completion scheduled before the end of the next.  And supposedly a “temporary satellite location” nearby will continue catering to the hungry mobs during the building period.

What makes me a little nervous is that it’s supposedly going to be built in “the Monterey, California Cannery Row style,” featuring river rock and “heavy timber accents.”  Somehow I find it hard to reconcile that with the bustling, breezy, casual, and authentic vibe Point Loma Seafoods has always had. Here’s hoping that’s not demolished too.