Don’t call it a shack: Pismo Pier will get a new bait shop — in an Airstream trailer
Months after demolishing the old Sheldon’s Clam Stand, the city of Pismo Beach says it has reached an agreement with the previous owners to install a new bait shop on the pier.
The new shop will be in one of several Airstream trailers the city has commissioned for the first diamond of the structure, according to Pismo Beach management services director Jorge Garcia. The other two trailers will include a food and beverage stand that could serve wine and beer and a portable visitors’ center.
This comes after the city demolished the old bait shack in October and said it did not anticipate another one taking its place on the pier.
The city moved the old shop during the pier’s massive rehabilitation in 2017. Before that, a bait shop of some kind had existed on the structure since at least 1931.
The Sheldon family purchased the shop around 1974 and operated it until its closure in 2019.
“We are sad to think of so many families that come out to rent rods and enjoy an affordable family activity that will not be available,” they said in a Facebook post at the time of the stand’s closure last year.
Garcia told The Tribune in previous reports that the family was unable to reach an agreement for a new shop on the renovated pier, and that they and the city decided to part ways.
But now the family seems to be getting back into the business.
Garcia confirmed to The Tribune in late January that the city is once again working with the Sheldons to operate a bait shop on the pier.
“We have been in constant communication with the Sheldons and identifying different options before this one became the best solution,” he wrote in an email to The Tribune. “The city is thrilled to identify a solution that will give the community convenient access to this amenity, while remaining consistent with our brand, for years to come.”
Garcia said the shop will likely open in May when the ongoing Pier Plaza construction is completed.
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Don’t call it a shack: Pismo Pier will get a new bait shop — in an Airstream trailer."
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