Columbus seafood spot permanently closes due to coronavirus, report says

The impacts of the coronavirus have claimed a popular seafood restaurant in north Columbus.

The Shrimp Basket location on Veterans Parkway will not be reopening after shutting its doors due to the pandemic, according to the Birmingham Business Journal.

On Friday the business appeared abandoned but for chairs and tables stacked inside the dark dining room. The location has also been removed from the company’s website.

Ledger-Enquirer calls to the corporate office on Friday were not returned as of this story’s publication.

Alabama locations that have also closed include Montgomery, Birmingham (Crestwood Boulevard), Tillman’s Corner and Mobile (Old Shell Road), as well as locations in Hattiesburg and Ridgeland, Mississippi and Fort Walton, Florida, according to the Journal.

The chain still has 11 locations in Alabama, nine in Florida and one in Gulfport, Mississippi.

According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Stephanie Lowery, company director of administration and special projects for Shrimp Basket, said the coronavirus took “a tremendous toll” on the business.

The Columbus location arrived in March 2017 in a newly constructed building at 6073 Veterans Parkway, across from Mellow Mushroom and The Hangout. It was the only Georgia location; before that, seafood connoisseurs would have to travel to Auburn, Alabama, to sample the fried fish shrimp, as well as a wide assortment of fried, grilled and steamed offerings of fish, shrimp, crawfish, crab claws, clams and oysters, both cooked and on the half shell.

The Shrimp Basket is based in Pensacola, Florida and was established in 1993.

This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.