Singleton's Seafood Shack

Mayport, Florida

In 2016, Don and I were heading north in Florida, along the Atlantc coast. It was lunchtime. This place didn't look very inviting, but we had heard about the seafood shack. It was featured on Food Network's, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  So why not? 

 Trash or Treasures

As we headed towards the door, we saw a cat and quite a collection of weathered boat related goodies. It was hard to tell if these were discarded items or decoration.
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The Porch

The porch also held a lot of clutter, but a Budweiser sign seemed to be welcoming us.
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Tub-O-Fish

The first thing we spotted inside, was a gigantic built in tub of ice, holding all the fresh seafood.

Shark Above

Above the tub, was a shark on the wall, with a bottle in his mouth. All very festive.

​Tables and Benches

The warped tables and benches made me feel like I was at summer camp.

Filling up
The tables began to fill, soon after we arrived.  The larger tables invited strangers to dine together, which encouraged a community feel... which was helpful at one point. 

I had noticed a white haired woman earlier.  She looked like she was from another era and I imagined her heading off to her square dancing club after lunch. All eyes turned to her table at one moment when her tipsy bench sent her tumbling backward onto the floor. Before I had a moment to gasp, a number of men dressed in camo jumped up and rushed over to assist. She was actually fine, but I'm guessing she wasn't up for square dancing after that.

Ray Singleton

Founder, Ray Singleton was featured in many news clippings and photos. He and his wife Ann, opened the tiny shack in 1969 to serve breakfast to fishermen. Ray is no longer with us, but his son Dean is carrying on the tradition.

Ann's Pigs

Ray's wife Ann, is evidently responsible for the pig artwork. 

More Collectibles  

Florescent lights gave a special glow to the collections of old bottles and cameras and toy vehicles on an upper shelf. There was lots to look at.

Seafood

The Shack kept things simple with Styrofoam plates.  Don's Mahi Mahi was quite good, even with plastic cutlery. I ordered the New England Clam Chowder, but should have ordered the Minorcan Clam Chowder.  I didn't read up on my history earlier, or I would have known about the Minorcan colony in the area.  Dean Singleton claims to be 10th generation Minorcan.

Dining with a View

The outside deck wasn't open, but it had a nice view of the St. John's River and ships carrying cargo.

A Museum?

The most memorable part of our oddball dining experience, was the free of charge, attached "museum" that held over 100 large carved boats. Ray Singleton evidently was the creator of these ships years ago. There were many signs reminding us not to touch. There were also signs telling us the boats were not for sale. The good news is, these boats did not float away last fall when Hurricane Matthew did some damage to Singleton's Seafood Shack!

A Better View

After a museum visit, we wandered around back and found a better view of the restaurant. The dock and boats were much more appealing than the unpainted front. 
I guess we'll just plan to arrive by boat, next time!