With MBARI planning to build a new research facility, Phil’s Fish Market needs to find another home.

On April 13, officials representing the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will present to the County Planning Commission a proposal to build a new 33,000 square foot research facility to replace its existing building at 7600 Sandholdt Road, which it’s owned since 1999.

If permitted – which appears likely – the new facility will increase the efficiency with which MBARI loads and offloads its autonomous underwater vehicles that explore the seafloor in Monterey Bay and beyond. The set up will also allow scientists to immediately offload data, working under the same roof where the vehicles would be developed, maintained and repaired. But there is an unfortunate catch: the existing building is also home to Phil’s Fish Market, a beloved local institution. The restaurant’s owner, Phil DiGirolamo, is already looking for a new home.

If MBARI gets its permits and Phil’s is forced to move, it wouldn’t be the first time. Phil’s moved out of its former location in Moss Landing in 1999 because of an MBARI expansion, and has been MBARI’s tenant at its current location since 2000.

The possibility that this would be a temporary space for the restaurant has been known for some time. As far back as 2008, MBARI was public with its plans for demolishing the building. The idea remained in limbo because it was tied into an update of the Moss Landing Community Plan. Keith Raybould, MBARI’s project manager for the expansion, says that update was expected to take about 12 months; more than 12 years later, the county has yet to complete it.

While MBARI’s plans have long been on the books, DiGirolamo says he’s still working on options for relocating his beloved restaurant.

“We’re trying to figure something out,” he says, adding, “It’s not a fight; I knew it was coming.”

The only thing at this point that could derail construction is if, ultimately, MBARI doesn’t get the sign off from the California Coastal Commission. But the plan would only go before the commission if there was an appeal. As it stands now, a Planning Commission approval would suffice.

The Coastal Commission is well-acquainted with MBARI’s plans. Raybould says he’s been in continuous contact with the agency over the course of planning the project, adding that the project will restore degraded dune habitat along the beach, and will be maintaining a sidewalk to provide the public with access to the beach.

Heidi Cullen, MBARI’s director of communications and strategic initiatives, says there’s a collective excitement within MBARI about what the new facility will bring – she calls it “critical” to MBARI’s mission moving forward – and adds, “This is not about MBARI, this is about the broader mission of understanding and protecting the ocean.

“A lot of thought went into it,” Cullen says, “and anything that MBARI does is to benefit the broader community.” Cullen is hoping Phil’s can find a soft landing spot.

“We love [DiGirolamo] and we want [him] to thrive, and we are hoping for the best for him in identifying another place in Moss Landing,” she says. “Part of what our goal was to work closely with him over the past eight years, to provide the runway to give him the time to make other arrangements.”