Turtle Bay Taqueria is closing its downtown Monterey location.

One of the best kept secrets in the Monterey Peninsula foodscape is about to get its closeup.

It comes hand-in-hand with the departure of a beloved downtown eatery, as outgoing Turtle Bay will be missed greatly by legion loyal fans of its pan-Yucatan-Baja-California-fusion fresh fare.

Turtle Bay's Seaside location, and sister Fishwife outposts next to it on Fremont Boulevard, and the original Fishwife in Asilomar, will remain operating as normal under the same management.

The key news, then:

Frutti Del Mar (384-8525), of the perpetually underestimated—and increasingly international—food city that is Marina, will be migrating south.

The new location represents a dramatic upgrade for Frutti visibility, after more than a decade tucked into a strip mall along with a Korean market and a laundromat.

Co-owner/operator Sonia Perez, who runs things with her husband and chef Tito, says closing dates for Turtle Bay and her own opening dates are in flux.

The conservative timeline she offered when pressed was Turtle Bay out by the end of June and FDM opening in July.

When asked what she was most excited about, she offered this: “About expanding, and moving into Monterey."

She's also eager to start serving lunch, and having a lot more kitchen and ground floor space to work with.

Fans of Frutti's veal cannelloni, sand dabs in lemon-butter cream, seafood fetuccini and signature crab ravioli with lobster sauce will be similarly eager.

The lease FDM currently has in Marina is on the market.

Turtle Bay/Fishwife owner Jefferson Seay says the move comes as he's downsizing his substantial restaurant management demands as he moves toward retirement.

"It's a lot to take care of," he says. "I'm ready to do less."