SAN MARCOS — Fish House Vera Cruz, a San Marcos culinary staple and longtime gathering spot for locals, shuttered its doors last week after 47 years of operation.
The seafood restaurant and fish market, located along West San Marcos Boulevard, was opened by Rex and Karen Butler in January 1979, in what was formerly considered Old California Restaurant Row, and has remained a family-owned business over the subsequent decades.
On June 11, the Butler family announced the restaurant had closed and thanked all the customers and employees for their years of support.
“Every story has an end and this is now time for ours. We did all that we could to remain open for our employees and community, but unfortunately the time has come to close our doors,” the Butler family said in a statement.
Hundreds of former customers took to social media to share their dismay about the closure and reminisce about the restaurant’s beloved dishes, from oysters Rockefeller to clam chowder to mesquite-grilled fresh fish, as well as its rustic interior featuring fish tanks and salvaged Douglas Fir wood beam ceilings.
The restaurant has employed over 3,700 employees over the years, the Butlers said.
“The success of the restaurant wouldn’t have been possible without the support and dedication of the managers and all the employees who created a welcoming community for customers to enjoy themselves and keep coming back to,” the statement said.
Fish House previously opened other locations in Carlsbad and Temecula, but both have since closed.
The Butlers did not specify the exact reason for their closure. However, the announcement comes around one year after the closure of Old California Restaurant Row, with a mixed-use project set to bring 202 housing units, over 10,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 1.5-acre park to the property.
While the Fish House property is not part of the project — it is located directly adjacent — overall business in the area has slowed drastically, and the restaurant has faced issues with the project developer, Lennar, regarding easements.
In 2023, owners of Fish House and the neighboring restaurant Cocina Del Charro argued that the project would infringe upon easements granted to them in the 1980s and 1990s through private agreements with the Eubanks family, the previous owners of the Restaurant Row site.
Fish House owners sued Lennar in June 2024, alleging breach of the easement agreement. Approximately one month before announcing the restaurant’s closure, the Butler family reached a settlement agreement with Lennar, and the case was subsequently dismissed.
Attorneys for Lennar declined to comment on the lawsuit or settlement, and attorneys for the Butlers did not provide comment in time for publication.
