The Islander

Staff Report

Rosemary Steele of DeSoto’s Seafood Kitchen in Gulf Shores was expecting the price of seafood to go up in the wake of the BP oil spill. But crab legs?

“That’s not caught here,” she said. “Those are caught in Alaska and Canada unless there’s something in Alaska I don’t know about.”

Rosemary and husband Christopher have owned the landmark restaurant for 10 years. It has been open for 30.

She said her business was down $58,000 in May compared to last year’s numbers. And she just paid an estimated quarterly tax bill, one some businesses are required to pay in advance based on last year’s sales, for $29,000.

This in the face of growing cancellations for catering for beach weddings and dwindling business.

“Thank goodness we have our local business,” she said Thursday. “They are a big boost and we’ve worked really hard to earn that.”

News reports aren’t helping even as local chambers and visitors bureaus point out there is still plenty to do in the beach communities of Baldwin County.

“We need to get some focus to the area,” she said. “I wish the media would stop with the doom and gloom. There’s things to do here. Lake Shelby in the state park is nice, the back country trail, beautiful parks to take the kids to, city pools, condos have pools.

“Everybody doesn’t come down here just to sit on the beach all day.”

For now, Desoto’s is doing all it can to attract new business and keep the regular locals coming back for more.

“Last week we had a group of 80 people and they asked if we could serve po’ boys at 5:30 and I normally don’t,” she said. “But I did that day.”

Before seeing the numbers for the restaurant, Rosemary said the Steeles were leaning against filing a loss claim with BP.

“I have filed a claim,” she said. “A wasn’t going to and was going to take a hit, but then I started looking at the numbers. And our insurance doesn’t cover losses for pollution.”