If you’ve spent any time around Fort Walton Beach, you’ve likely ended up at Rick’s Crab Trap at some point. It’s a place people return to: familiar, easy and consistently good.
Now, after decades in the area, Rick’s is stepping into its next chapter with a new name, RICK’S Seafood & Sports. The change comes alongside a full remodel, bringing a more modern coastal feel with a stronger sports bar presence while keeping the foundation people know.
The restaurant traces back to 1989, when Rick Pike opened the original location in Navarre. From there, it moved to Fort Walton Beach across from City Hall in 1996 before hurricane damage forced it to close. The restaurant reopened under Brooks Bridge in 1999, remained there until 2009 and briefly operated in Miramar Beach before the oil spill. Within months, the current location was purchased and rebuilt into what it is today.
Through it all, the business stayed in the family. Chris and Jen Pike now carry it forward, building on what Rick started, with early influence from Sophia Pike and Ellen Galland, who helped run the restaurant in its early years and shaped much of what Rick’s is known for today.
Some things were never up for discussion. “For me, it was the original tongue-and-groove pine planks sourced from the sawmill in Milton. My dad and I built those walls in the dining room together back in 2010,” Chris said.
The rebrand came alongside the remodel and a shift in how the space is used. “We were wanting to diversify our menu a bit and not feel like we had to commit a certain amount of space to the crustacean graphic,” Chris said. “We will forever be thankful to the crab, but it was time to move forward.”
For Jen, the connection to Rick’s is just as personal. “The Rick’s under the bridge will always hold a special place in my heart. That is where Chris and I met,” she said. “We would rent out a couple of pontoon boats from that location, and as a bartender you were required to juggle rentals and bartending, so it was quite entertaining.”
The goal remains the same: a family-owned, generational staple, now with a refreshed space that reflects both its history and where it is headed.
