NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — Fish Camp has temporarily closed its doors, and owner Mario Fernandez says the shutdown stems from multiple state agencies entering the fold. He warns the business may not come back anytime soon.
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"This isn't going away. It might not reopen for months. It might not reopen for a year." Fernandez said.
Fernandez says he knew the property carried baggage long before he bought it.
"We knew that it had a difficult past with the prior ownership and conflicts with the state, the county, etc. So we knew that going in, that's why we researched it deeply before pulling the trigger. But basically, it became too difficult, it became too frustrating." Fernandez said.
According to a voluntary consent order the business entered in April 2026, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection found seven violations centered around the business's septic tank.
DEP says the property's septic system can only handle 400 gallons of sewage a day and not what the business is producing — over 2,000 gallons per day, according to the order.
It says an overloaded system could release bacteria and viruses into groundwater and eventually the lake.
Fernandez says he's attempted to fix the issues — installing portable toilets and using disposable utensils to reduce water use — but it wasn't enough.
He says DEP then directed the state's business licensing agency to reduce the restaurant's previous occupancy from 128 people to about 20, including employees.
"Well, for us, it's a death sentence for this property,” he said. “Could you imagine if you bought a place where you could have 128 people and you had them?”
I reached out to the agency to confirm their involvement with the occupancy reduction but didn't get a response back in time.
However, in an earlier statement, the agency says it met with Fish Camp's owners more than 10 times — recommending a specific septic system that would meet the restaurant's needs and ease public health concerns.
DEP says Fish Camp didn't pursue that option and hasn't submitted a complete application for it.
But Fernandez says if he applies for permits, the business could face even bigger problems from other agencies involving land use.
"Well, I have to be very careful with what we do with this property because if I do this, I'm violating the grandfathering in. If I were to open this now, and then I'm well over the place." Fernandez said.
Fernandez has been the owner since the end of 2024, according to a Facebook post on the business's page. He says some of the problems were inherited from the previous ownership.
DEP says the property "has a lengthy regulatory history involving unpermitted restaurant operations. Leon County, the Florida Department of Health Leon County, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have all been involved in enforcement actions concerning the property dating back to 2021."
DEP says that it's ready to help Fish Camp with any permitting — saying its goal has always been to find a way for the business to stay open.
Fernandez says he's still weighing his options on how to proceed, saying he's hopeful Fish Camp will return.
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