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Tuesday, Mar. 16, 1999

Fish market demolition brings sadness

Building is filled with family memories for property owner

By ANDREA JARES
Staff Writer

   No lights shine in what were once ice-filled displays of fish, lobster and shellfish at Seven Seas Fish Market at Staples and Booty streets.
   The chipped paint advertising fresh drum on the side of the building peeks out from behind City Council campaign posters. Inside, nail holes where family photos and plaques of accomplishments hung now dot the plaster walls.
   For almost 40 years, the fish market never so empty, said Marcella Berlanga Alegria, property owner. People once lined up at the market at 1602 S. Staples St. to catch up on local talk while they were selecting the catch of the day.
   During Lent, the fish market would sometimes be packed with customers all the way to the street, she said.
   "And on Good Friday, oooooooh, we used to work!" she said.
   She brushes tears away from her eyes when she thinks about how the store will be demolished next month. She will then lease the three lots of land through Morgan Real Estate.
   She and her husband, Richard, ran the store since it opened in 1960. After Richard died in 1994, she operated the store by herself. But she had to close the business three years later, when she broke her ankle and was unable to keep up with the work.
   For Alegria, the shop is full of memories: where all six of her children worked at the family business that eventually put them through college.
   The market was also an extension of the Louisiana Avenue home she would walk from every day to the store just off the Six Points shopping area.
   Here, her children - Richard, Raul, Charlie, Frank, Virginia and Elizabeth - grew up and worked their way through college. Charlie went on to follow in his parents' line of work - opening his own business, Morgan Street Seafood on Morgan Avenue and Brownlee Boulevard.
   She said the secret to staying in the fish business for almost 40 years is to make customers feel welcome. That could mean donating fish for fish fry fund-raisers or chatting with customers about their families.
   "To me, when you're in business, you have to love what you do," she said. "You make them feel good."
   Faith is another component of the fish market, where plaques of inspirational messages still hang on the wall and decorate the outside of the building.
   "When you're in business, you have to treat people the same way as you want to be treated," she said.
   Bob Morgan, owner of Morgan Real Estate, said the area would be ideal for a fast-food restaurant or a medical services business to complement the Corpus Christi Medical Tower across the street.
   The property has been on the block for almost a year, but the demolition is intended to make the property more attractive to sellers.
   "Most people were put off by the unknown cost of the demolition," he said. Some offers have been made to lease the property, but nothing firm yet, he said.
   

Land seminar planned

   The economy, developments in agricultural policies and the outlook for rural land markets are the subject of the annual Outlook for Texas Rural Land Markets seminar next month.
   The ninth-annual event, sponsored by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, is set for 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 23 this year at the university's George Bush Presidential Conference Center in College Station.
   Speakers include Malcolm Richards, director of the Real Estate Center; Mark Dotzour, the center's chief economist; Edward Smith, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M; and Judon Fambrough, senior lecturer and lawyer at the center.
   Speakers also include Charles E. Gilliland, research economist for the center, and representatives from the Texas chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
   The seminar will cover the state of the Texas real estate economy, developments in agricultural policy and land markets, emerging legal issues in Texas real estate, developments in Texas land markets, land buyers and sellers, and the outlook for Texas rural land markets.
   Advance registration is required by calling (409) 845-9691. The fee is $85 and includes parking and lunch.
   Mandatory continuing education credit is available for real estate licensees and continuing education units have been requested for other organizations.
   

First American Closing Office moves to Holly

   First American Closing Office Inc., a fee office for First American Title Insurance, has moved into a 5,700-square-foot office building. Law offices for Michael J. Shelly, who is a vice president of the closing office, also will be in the building.
   The company last month moved from 4721 Bonner Drive to the new offices at 5102 Holly Road, between Everhart Road and Staples Street.
   Nelda Martinez, president of First American Closing Office, said the move was necessary to accommodate the growth of her business.
   "We've really expanded, and Alan Greenspan has been in a good mood," she said. They also bought the acre and a half next door for future expansion.
   Business writer Andrea Jares can be reached at 886-3678 or by e-mail at jaresa@caller.com. On Real Estate is published every other Tuesday in the business section. Items of local interest may be faxed to 886-3732 for consideration.

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.