SAN DIEGO — An Ocean Beach staple is calling it quits after 30 years of heartwarming memories on the OB pier. CBS 8 met up with one of the owners Friday as he prepared to clean everything out of the OB pier cafe.
“Lot of memories from the café," said co-owner Chuck Fisher. "I mean this is my walk to work for 30 years, and there’s no better walk to work.”
Fisher and his wife are soon to say goodbye to the business they started three decades ago.
“I’m 70 and my wife wants me working less, not more anyway, so it’s been a transition," said Fisher. "There’s definitely an element of sadness, but we’re just so grateful for the 30 years that we had out there.”
The Fishers took over the lease in 1993 and opened the Walking on Water Café, gaining popularity and even winning awards for the fish and chips and lobster tacos, and gaining notoriety for their pancakes.
“I’m not a cook. I always tease if you saw me with an apron on out there, just keep on walking," said Fisher. "I’ve been very blessed with good staff over the years."
Big waves and winter storms have battered the pier with closures becoming all too common in recent years.
“The pier’s been closed for many months each year for the past couple years, so there’s been a rhythm here. And we knew the pier wasn’t in good shape being here for 30 years, I mean, you can see the rebar and so you knew," Fisher said.
The beating it took during a winter storm in December was the final straw, as 8-14 foot waves knocked down one of the support pilings. Since then, the pier has remained closed to the public.
“Time for engineers to fly drones, get on boats, walk it, jump on it," said Fisher jokingly. "But I think once that pylon fell, I think that was the signal.”
In August, the City of San Diego announced that repairing the pier was no longer feasible, and that they planned to keep it closed while the City moves forward with a plan to replace the 58-year-old pier.
The City and Chuck both agreed to end the lease for the café, so he has been busy this week cleaning the interior of the cafe while preparing to remove all the furniture and equipment within the next couple weeks.
“At the time of construction, they gave the pier a 50-year life and that was 60-some years ago," said Fisher with a smile. "So we got 10 more years than what anybody had hoped for, so we’re just thrilled about that.”
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