"Bay County is dependent on fishermen whether they know it or not, like peanuts in Alabama," Kenyon Gandy said. "We serve up the fish just as fresh as when it came out of the water."
PANAMA CITY — Buddy Gandy's name is synonymous with seafood, and the family invites the community to celebrate that legacy during a 63-year anniversary party from 4-8 p.m. Thursday at the market.
"It's a way of life, like a farm. It's our livelihood," Kenyon Gandy said Thursday at the market, 3004 W. U.S. 98.
He and his "little brother," Buddy Gandy — both in their 80s, retired from Buddy Gandy's Seafood in March 2017, inspiring the next generation — Kenyon Gandy Jr. and longtime employee Rebecca "Becca" Buffington — to continue the family business.
Buddy Gandy's Seafood continues to attract new and longtime customers from all over the Southeast and beyond for its fresh local seafood.
"We're advertising from here to Atlanta," Kenyon Gandy said. "Ask anyone on Peach Tree Street where to go for fresh seafood, and they'll say Panama City Beach, and most likely, it's Buddy Gandy's Seafood. We got a reputation."
Buffington, who has worked at Buddy Gandy's for almost a decade, call the business "the heart of Panama City and St. Andrews."
"She's close enough as family," Kenyon Gandy said. "She grasps the magnitude of the business, and she can run the steamer."
In addition to established favorites, the new Buddy Gandy's Seafood steam bar gives customers more options.
"We do a meal every day: a half pound of shrimp and three sides," Buffington said. "Call ahead and it will be ready, or just stop in. Sides include garlic parmesan cheese potatoes, corn on the cob, and Conecuh sausage — all made here."
Buffington, a "50/50 partner" with Kenyon Gandy Jr., was trained by Kenyon Gandy's wife, JoEllen, to take over as the business's accountant.
"My momma taught me how to survive, but JoEllen taught me how to thrive. I have two mommas," Buffington said. "Now I'm the mom of this place. Kenyon's the buyer and seller. He is the best fish dresser in this county. We cater to every culture. They may want the eyeballs out or the guts back."
Kenyon Gandy Jr. was 11 years old when he cleaned his first professional fish.
"He's been here with the growth of the business and understands it from the foundation," Kenyon Gandy said. "Now he's the face around here."
While some kids do chores around the house to earn a little extra money, his son had more unique jobs.
"I used to make 50 cents for cleaning the drains out. Before sharks got regulated, we used to lay fins on the roof and dry them out," said Kenyon Gandy Jr., 37, adding, "My dad's the one that named him 'Buddy.'"
Gandys' legacy
Kenyon Gandy and Kenneth "Buddy" Gandy, just 15 months apart, were born to Melvin Gandy and Eunice Gandy in the 1930s.
"Most thought we were twins, because of how my mom named us," said Kenyon Gandy, who recalled meeting his little brother for the first time. "After my mom had him and I went to see him, they said it took me along time walking up the stairs, and I said, 'I'm going to see my little buddy. ... They said it was natural to say 'Buddy' after that."
The Gandys have a history of adapting — the brothers traded hunting for fishing in their youth, and their Dad, Melvin, went from selling produce to running fish.
"We came here from Thomasville, Ga., in September 1948," said Kenyon Gandy, who first attended St. Andrew School in seventh grade. "We began to learn the area, live here going to school, doing paper routes, got to know the community. We played in the water, went crabbing, fishing, learning to throw cast nets like juveniles will do. My daddy became a truck driver for a fish company, driving to New York, Texas, Chicago, wherever the trip would lead."
In 1953, Kenyon Gandy drove the truck to become acquainted with the market system.
"I was still in school when I purchased the market at the end of 11th Street, a little metal building," he said.
The 11th Street Fish Market opened under Gandy and Sons in 1954.
"It was a one-man operation," said Kenyon Gandy, whose brother came on board two years later.
Buddy Gandy had been working as a butcher at the A&P supermarket on Fifth Street, but with a growing family, was looking for something a little more prosperous.
"I told him I had a shrimp boat selling shrimp to me. He got on the shrimp boat and started decking, working on the boat while the captain drove the boat, culling out the shrimp and icing them down," Kenyon Gandy said. "We were doing good in St. Andrews."
The St. Andrews pier closed in 1957.
"The city built the marinas and gave notice to move," Kenyon Gandy recalled. "Boats had no place to dock in town."
Herbert Sapp hired Melvin Gandy and his sons to built a dock on his property off Thomas Drive on the Grand Lagoon. They worked for three months building a "very primitive" dock on the corner of what became Treasure Island Marina. The brothers then built a fish house before Sapp contracted out to have the rest of the dock completed.
"When the marina was built, we began to ice boats and sell bait. Party boats were served with bait, ice and fish cleaning and storage; we had exclusive rights to that," Kenyon Gandy said. "It was a streamlined fish cleaning service. We would weigh, service and store the fish for three days, ice and pack and dress it like they wanted it to be. If they didn't catch any fish, they could come back and buy some. If they didn't want it, they could sell it. We had a supply of fish; got us established. It worked out to be a unique service at the time."
Fish could be dressed in a variety of different ways.
"They were drawn, or left whole. We called it gutting but that didn't sound good to the public," Kenyon Gandy said. "There was scaling, cutting the head off and the filet, complete cleaning of the fish."
By 1960, they were buying two-thirds of all the ice produced at the St. Andrews ice plant, located where Capt.'s Table parking lot currently sits. The ice plant owner was ready to retire, so he taught the Gandys how to run the plant and financed the deal.
"We sold cocktail ice to restaurants and the white ice to shrimp and fishing boats," said Kenyon Gandy, who was operating the 11th Street Market and ice plant with his dad, while Buddy Gandy primarily oversaw operations at the Grand Lagoon.
But the invention of new ice makers put the ice plant out of business by 1982. The property was sold, but Buddy Gandy bought and opened the current location on U.S. 98 in 1983 as Buddy Gandy's Seafood.
"This place here was a car wash. I still was peddling shrimp on the road when he opened up. It grew faster than I thought it would," said Kenyon Gandy, who came in as an employee when the business got established. "There's a lot to be said about the business. We have a natural resource, and it's an unlimited natural resource. The federal government decided it wanted to manage it. They decided to put size limits on the fish, only puts burden on so many with regulations."
Though wholesale business has gone down over the years, Buddy Gandy's Seafood still thrives with its retail business — still serving and dressing fresh fish for the customer while they wait. Buddy Gandy's Seafood has even extended store hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from March to September, "opening on Sundays for locals," Buffington said.
"Bay County is dependent on fishermen whether they know it or not, like peanuts in Alabama," Kenyon Gandy said. "We serve up the fish just as fresh as when it came out of the water."
Kenyon Gandy Jr. added, "Ninety-five percent of fish on our case come wild call. We have boats, do business with others — Waterstreet, Tarpon Dock and Harbor Docks in Destin, ship fish from Miami."
On March 15, the new ice-filled display was packed with fresh shrimp, red snapper, grouper, mullet, oysters, crawfish.
"It looks like a boat, so when you walk in, it's like you're buying fresh off a boat," Buffington said.
Customers also can pick out their crawfish from the live well, bag fresh crabs.
On Thursday, customers can sample dips — tuna, salmon and crab — as well as enjoy finger foods, while live music is performed by Black and Tan (Jamah Terry and Sean Flood).
"Chase Landry from 'Swamp People' will cook crawfish in the parking lot. We plan to steam a bunch of shrimp," said Buffington, who is having anniversary shirts made for this week's occasion. "We want people to know this is the one and only Buddy Gandy's Seafood. We clean crabs, we clean shrimp, we pack, we ship next day U.S. Air; we're not just a seafood market."