Joe Patti’s Market on the water in Pensacola is not only a place to shop, it’s a tourist attraction.

Fish markets stink.

That is, they smell fishy, and when you put out several thousand pounds of fishy products, no matter how floppin’ fresh they might be, there’s a certain aroma that permeates the air for a long distance from the actual source.

Joe Patti’s place smells fishy, in a big way.

This is not surprising, considering that the family market’s 101-foot shrimp boat is parked right next to the place.

Joe’s place, on the waterfront in Pensacola, is about the size of a dairy barn—it has to be to hold all of the seafood and other stuff for sale.

And all of the people that come here to shop, and to view what has become a local tourist attraction.

The front counter at Patti’s is usually swarmed with seafood buyers—it’s literally take-a-number shopping.

When it comes to fish, there’s everything from live lobsters to floppin’ fresh flounder, basa from the Orient, catfish from Mississippi, octopus and squid from the deep sea, king mackerel, wahoo, mahi, swordfish—just about any seafood you can think of, either whole, gutted with the head on or filleted and skinned. You can even buy lobsters and crabs freshly pre-boiled.

There’s a beer and wine boutique attached, a deli with fresh meats and imported cheeses by the slice, a make-your-own sushi mini-restaurant, a gelato counter, and of course a fishy gifts boutique. 

You can get shrimp of every size and in every configuration, from whole to table-ready, pink shrimp, white shrimp, brown shrimp, rock shrimp: It’s a true Bubba Gump kind of place, you name it and it’s there on the ice. The main fish counter is nearly a hundred feet long and has a dozen red-shirted employees hustling to fill orders.

You want octopus? Squid? Just the tentacles? Joe’s got em.

There are not many fish markets where you literally have to take a number to get served, but here you do. Because there are so many redshirts behind the counter, wait time is minimal but those employees must be wilted at the end of their shifts—they hustle, hauling in fish from the bins and barrels and tubs out back to the glass-fronted ice counter inside.

The lemon boat is loaded with everything you need to make your seafood dinner complete—including lemons.

There’s so much seafood on ice that the whole place is chilly. Tons more ice steams out in the ready room where the sea critters are washed and cleaned and made ready for sale.

Most of the fish and shrimp are priced well below what you’d get them for at a grocery store--$10 for 16-20- count fully-cleaned shrimp tails, for example. People on either side of me were buying 10 pounds at a shot. We did two pounds and it was enough to feed five of us more than we wanted, chargrilled and with a squeeze of lemon.

In the wine and beer store, everything from $300 a bottle Dom Perignon to $12 California Chardonnay and a hundred kinds of craft beers tempt those who like a bit of alcohol.

You want cake? (Yes, please.) They have over two dozen different flavors and you can buy em by the slice. (Try the carrot cream if you go—best I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried a bunch of them.)

The place started with Sicilian immigrants Joe & Anna Patti selling shrimp and fish off the deck of their boat in the early 1930’s. Today, the family still owns and operates the greatly expanded operation, and also runs a nearby ship building operation.  

Joe’s is just down the street from Pensacola’s Maritime Park, where you can catch some whopper sheepshead right around the docks from November through March on live fiddler crabs for sure, and sometimes on fresh shrimp tails. 

Palafox Street, a few blocks from Joe Patti’s, is widely known for its open air restaurants, bars and parks.

If you can’t visit—and enjoy the open air ambience of nearby Palafox Street among the other attractions of the area, Joe Patti’s place will ice and ship your order. 

Obviously, if you live where deliveries are slow or a long way from the Florida coast this may not be a great plan, but it’s an option otherwise for those who can’t visit this unique—but fishy--tourist attraction. 

It’s located on South B Street, just off Main. To find it, look for the 40’ wide American flag out front—the just follow your nose.

— Frank Sargeant
Frankmako1@gmail.com