New Brunswick

Closure of Saint John seafood institution rattles vendors at City Market

Billy's Seafood, a longtime staple of Saint John's City Market, closed its doors suddenly, putting an end to over 30 years of business. 

Billy's Seafood Company announced closure on Feb. 4 in a post on social media

A storefront in a brick building showing a sign that says Billy's Seafood Company.
Billy's Seafood, a mainstay of the Saint John area, announced it has closed for good . (Luke Beirne/CBC)

The closure of a Saint John seafood institution is raising concerns about the broader future of the entire City Market. 

Billy's Seafood Company, a longtime fixture at the market run by Billy Grant, closed its doors suddenly on Feb. 4, putting an end to more than 30 years of business. 

"It's hard to lose someone who's been a staple of the market," Andrew MacDonald, manager of the market, said.

"You walk into the City Market and the very first thing you see is a giant cut-out of Billy," MacDonald said on Information Morning Saint John.

"Billy's a really friendly and charismatic person who you see around."

Man standing in front of his restaurant smiling at camera.
Billy Grant stands in front of his restaurant, April 2024, in Saint John's uptown. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)

A Facebook post on the restaurant's page said the business was closing "with heavy hearts … after being an honoured part of the Saint John City Market for 32 years."

In the post, Grant said he started in the market when he was 17 years old, and after weathering major renovations of the market, the loss of patio revenue because of the demolition and construction at 97 King St., and the pandemic, he had "now realized that the business is simply not viable and must close effective immediately."

 CBC News has contacted Grant several times for an interview since the business closed, but has not heard back. 

In a previous interview in 2024, Grant spoke about how construction around his restaurant had been going on a long time and was hurting his business.

"Going on three or four years, this is not acceptable," he said. "It's really affected my company a lot. Business is down from it."

Speaking about the business's cause for closure, MacDonald cited overall changes in spending habits and the impact of COVID-19.

He also said that it may just have been the natural flow of the market and that the departure might also provide the opportunity to make physical changes to the building itself, making use of the space in a new way. 

Other businesses in the market have taken the abrupt closure hard. 

"Everyone is feeling really sad," Jill Laskey-Parry, owner of the Blue Pelican Bath and Body shop, said.

She described the closure of Billy's restaurant as devastating and not an isolated event.

"We're all a little bit alarmed when we see big staples of the market leaving … Sisters, Sagratis, Slocum and Ferris, Uncorked. You know, those are all staples of the City Market."

An interior wall in a market showing a wooden door and windows. Above is a sign saying Billy's Seafood Company.
Other vendors at the City Market say the loss of Billy's Seafood will hit hard. (Luke Beirne/CBC)

Laskey-Parry said that businesses uptown have had a hard time since the COVID-19 pandemic, when people got used to working from home.

She said that uptown entrepreneurs need to start working together to encourage people to visit area again, just for the experience.

She is meeting with the city to discuss potential solutions for uptown businesses that are currently struggling, and she feels there's reason to hope.

"I am optimistic, especially with today's climate, that people are really looking at investing again in their local economy, and I do believe that entrepreneurs have that innovative spirit and that's where innovation comes from, not necessarily from the formula that you'll see in a big box format."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Luke Beirne

Researcher

Luke Beirne is a researcher at CBC News in Saint John. He is also a writer and the author of three novels. You can reach him at luke.beirne@cbc.ca.