TIMBERS OF SANIBEL, INC.
SANIBEL, FLORIDA

With their restaurant experience, the three partners decide The Timbers menu would feature mostly steaks and shrimp, with red snapper being the only fish item. It didn’t take long for Matt to see that his customers wanted fish, and they wanted it fresh. He would drive his Toyota hatchback to the docks on Ft. Myers Beach, cash in pocket, and buy whole fish off the boats. With guidance from a few ‘old salts’, a sharp knife and a lot of practice, ‘Matt the Fishmonger’ was born! Guests would often inquire, “Is the fish fresh?” One night, the man who coined the phrase “We serve it fresh….or we don’t serve it at all” dropped a twenty five pound grouper on the table of and inquiring patron. Other guests were requesting whole fish at their tables, so they could see ‘the show’ as well. Fish was suddenly fun, and as the legend of Matt’s antics grew, soon he would be seen parading fish through the dining room nightly. As a business increased, the quantity of fish needed, forced partners to buy Matt a used pickup truck. The story of Matt filleting a one hundred pound swordfish in the back of that pickup truck in Baileys parking lot is not a myth, it’s true! 1981- With so many requests to buy fish that guests could cook at home, Matt convinced his soon to be partners to let him use the former six seat waiting room as a retail fish market. Using a second hand delicatessen case, Matt worked the counter selling fresh fish, shellfish, and top quality steaks. With a fish market sign now hanging below The Timbers roadside sign, the first of many ‘run-ins’ with code enforcement officer Dick Baker would follow. In this case, Matt decided to avoid any conflict with the city of Sanibel, and changed the legal name to With their restaurant experience, the three partners decide The Timbers menu would feature mostly steaks and shrimp, with red snapper being the only fish item. It didn’t take long for Matt to see that his customers wanted fish, and they wanted it fresh. He would drive his Toyota hatchback to the docks on Ft. Myers Beach, cash in pocket, and buy whole fish off the boats. With guidance from a few ‘old salts’, a sharp knife and a lot of practice, ‘Matt the Fishmonger’ was born! Guests would often inquire, “Is the fish fresh?” One night, the man who coined the phrase “We serve it fresh….or we don’t serve it at all” dropped a twenty five pound grouper on the table of and inquiring patron. Other guests were requesting whole fish at their tables, so they could see ‘the show’ as well. Fish was suddenly fun, and as the legend of Matt’s antics grew, soon he would be seen parading fish through the dining room nightly. As a business increased, the quantity of fish needed, forced partners to buy Matt a used pickup truck. The story of Matt filleting a one hundred pound swordfish in the back of that pickup truck in Baileys parking lot is not a myth, it’s true! 1981- With so many requests to buy fish that guests could cook at home, Matt convinced his soon to be partners to let him use the former six seat waiting room as a retail fish market. Using a second hand delicatessen case, Matt worked the counter selling fresh fish, shellfish, and top quality steaks. With a fish market sign now hanging below The Timbers roadside sign, the first of many ‘run-ins’ with code enforcement officer Dick Baker would follow. In this case, Matt decided to avoid any conflict with the city of Sanibel, and changed the legal name to With their restaurant experience, the three partners decide The Timbers menu would feature mostly steaks and shrimp, with red snapper being the only fish item. It didn’t take long for Matt to see that his customers wanted fish, and they wanted it fresh. He would drive his Toyota hatchback to the docks on Ft. Myers Beach, cash in pocket, and buy whole fish off the boats. With guidance from a few ‘old salts’, a sharp knife and a lot of practice, ‘Matt the Fishmonger’ was born! Guests would often inquire, “Is the fish fresh?” One night, the man who coined the phrase “We serve it fresh….or we don’t serve it at all” dropped a twenty five pound grouper on the table of and inquiring patron. Other guests were requesting whole fish at their tables, so they could see ‘the show’ as well. Fish was suddenly fun, and as the legend of Matt’s antics grew, soon he would be seen parading fish through the dining room nightly. As a business increased, the quantity of fish needed, forced partners to buy Matt a used pickup truck. The story of Matt filleting a one hundred pound swordfish in the back of that pickup truck in Baileys parking lot is not a myth, it’s true! 1981- With so many requests to buy fish that guests could cook at home, Matt convinced his soon to be partners to let him use the former six seat waiting room as a retail fish market. Using a second hand delicatessen case, Matt worked the counter selling fresh fish, shellfish, and top quality steaks. With a fish market sign now hanging below The Timbers roadside sign, the first of many ‘run-ins’ with code enforcement officer Dick Baker would follow. In this case, Matt decided to avoid any conflict with the city of Sanibel, and changed the legal name to