After 30 years, this seafood market and restaurant in North Miami is closing

Food admin June 11, 2026 0 Comments

After 30 years, this seafood market and restaurant in North Miami is closing

Say goodbye to the fresh yellowtail, the delectable hogfish, North Miami. Adios to dollar oyster nights and stone crabs in season. Captain Jim’s Seafood Market & Restaurant, a no-frills spot that served fresh fish and shellfish in the city for 30 years, is closing for good.

The restaurant’s fate was announced by owner David Garcia, who bought the property in 2018 and took over running it because what he saw in the unassuming space was “more than a restaurant.”

“I saw a place with a history worth preserving and a community worth serving,” he wrote on the restaurant’s social media. “I believed it deserved another chance and worked every day to give it one.”

Other issues, however, intervened: “The years that followed brought personal hardships, rising costs, labor shortages, and challenges that many small businesses know all too well. Through it all, I never stopped believing in Captain Jim’s or the people who made it special.”

Garcia also runs the seafood spot La Camaronera on West Flagler Street, which has been in his family since 1976, and manages Garcia’s Seafood Grill, which is owned by his cousins. The family affinity for seafood is strong: His grandfather, father and 10 uncles were fishermen in Cardenas, Cuba, and Garcia himself grew up peeling and deveining shrimp along the Miami River.

He thanked his staff, fishermen and supplies, customers and neighbors for their support and dropped a small hint that perhaps Captain Jim’s future is less than final.

“Whether this is the final page or simply the end of one chapter, only time will tell,” he wrote.

The restaurant’s final day of service will be June 21, Father’s Day.

The closing comes at a time when North Miami has finally gotten a little attention for its restaurants. Mutra, a kosher Israeli spot on 123rd Street, earned a Michelin star last month, while the Ecuadorian restaurant Cotoa was named a Bib Gourmand, a designation that indicates great restaurants with affordable prices. Peruvian spot Barra Callou in nearby North Miami Beach was also named a Bib Gourmand.