Est. 1903 · Sarasota County Waterfront Heritage · Nokomis Historical Structure · Gulf Coast Commercial Fishing History
The structure at 1009 Albee Road West in Nokomis was built in 1903 as part of the working waterfront of Little Sarasota Bay. Fish houses — commercial structures for receiving, processing, and shipping the catch — were the economic infrastructure of Gulf Coast communities before tourism displaced fishing as the dominant industry. This building served that function across the early twentieth century.
The property passed through multiple owners over its history. Robert Arbuckle held ownership during a period that staff and investigators now associate with the building's most documented paranormal accounts. Arbuckle is described in reports as the presence attached to the building — a former owner who has not fully departed.
The current Pelican Alley Restaurant occupies the original structure and operates as a casual waterfront seafood dining destination. It is noted as one of the older surviving commercial buildings in the Nokomis area and is recognized locally for both its food and its informal paranormal reputation. No formal ghost-tour programming is offered; the haunted lore exists in the texture of the restaurant's daily operation.
Sources
- https://www.pelican-alley.com/
- https://www.venicefoodies.com/the-best-places-to-get-seafood-in-venice-florida/
ApparitionsObject movementAnomalous door movementEVPCold spots
The accounts associated with Pelican Alley are operational in character — reports from staff during working hours rather than from organized after-hours investigations. Robert Arbuckle, identified in accounts as a former owner, is the named presence. Staff describe objects displaced in the kitchen and dining area, doors in motion when the spaces are otherwise empty, and the occasional figure of a man in areas where no customer should be.
Paranormal investigation groups have visited the property and reported results consistent with the staff accounts: temperature anomalies and EVP results from areas associated with Arbuckle's tenure. The investigations are informal and have not generated the kind of sustained documentation that anchors ghost-tour programming at more prominently haunted venues.
The restaurant does not incorporate its haunted reputation into public programming. The paranormal dimension exists at the margins of a functioning dining operation — known to regulars, acknowledged by staff, but not the primary reason guests arrive.
Notable Entities
Robert Arbuckle
