A rare and unique fish market in downtown Atlanta was closed by the city this morning as the city tried to get the market’s lease renewed.
The market, known locally as the “fish market,” closed after the city learned it would not renew the city’s fish license.
The market was open, but due to the fire, the owners were forced to temporarily close it, Mayor Mike Dunlap said.
The city has since been looking for a new tenant to operate the market.
“We’ve tried to find a tenant that would be willing to help with the upkeep of the fish market and to help us maintain the fish and the marketplace,” Dunlap told WSB-TV.
The fish market was located at the corner of W. Monroe Street and Washington Avenue, a neighborhood that’s often filled with the smell of rotting fish and decaying plants.
Its last remaining resident is the former owner, whose name has not been released.
The Fish Market was the last of several fish markets to open in the city.
The other ones closed down in the late 1990s due to a lack of funding.