BOKEELIA, Fla. — For nearly 30 years, Capt'n Con's brought its famous pies and clam chowder to this end of Pine Island, but now the restaurant sits in rubble.
"It was all a blur, like, everything's like a nightmare," said Jenny Wray, Luretta Wilson's daughter.
Most of the building was destroyed in the back to back punch of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
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"The feelings are just like a big part of you is gone," said Luretta Wilson, the owner of Capt'n Con's Fish House.
Wilson started Capt'n Con's as a single mother from Kentucky and built it into what people now call a staple of the island.
"It was our little place in the world," Wilson said. "I loved every customer that came in here, you know, without them, we're nothing."
"We're a staple of the community, but we just don't think that's best for us, and it's really not best for her," said Rachel Wilson, Luretta's daughter.
"She would not have gave up. She would have kept on and kept on, and she needs to take care of herself," said Wray.
Wilson says the decision not to reopen was heartbreaking, but without their building, they say Capt'n Con's won't be the same.
"This is just like beyond imaginable for all of us, because we've all worked here so long," said Wray. "I know, like, mentally, it's got to be hard for her, because, like, I can't even bring myself to work in another kitchen."
However, this doesn't mean the end for their pies or even their clam chowder.
"I didn't realize how much those meant to people, but I'm telling you what they've been calling, wanting pies, and wanting this and wanting that, and it's like, well, we'll see what we can do for you," said Luretta Wilson.
This family business will continue to sell their goods through their Facebook, but they say a name change is inevitable now that they are starting over.
