Charlie's Stone Crabs was established in 2006 by Casey Kofmehl, a third generation Kofmehl. Charlie's Stone Crabs online sales is a continuation of the family tradition of providing the freshest, locally caught seafood available, to its guests dining at Charlie's Fish House Restaurant. As well as those guests purchasing fresh seafood from Charlie's Seafood Market, enabling them to prepare their own recipes at home, in their own kitchens.

Charlie's Stone Crabs, with online sales and overnight delivery, we are able to continue the family tradition of providing you with the best and freshest seafood available, not only to local clientele but to customers throughout the continental United States.

Charlie's Stone Crabs currently only sells Florida Fresh Stone Crab Claws, but in the near future we will make other Florida Fresh seafood items available.

The family tradition and vision provided and established in 1948 by Charlie Kofmehl will continue to grow for generations to come as we seek better ways to provide our customers the finest seafood possible. Four generations and over 250 years combined industry experience are at your service.

The following is a brief history of how Charlie started our family tradition, please read and enjoy:

Welcome to Charlie’s Fishhouse Restaurant and Seafood Market, located on the waters edge of Crystal River, Florida, where a sixty year family tradition of providing great seafood awaits your dining pleasure!

In 1959, Charlie Kofmehl bought this property, which included an old cracker style fishhouse, from Ed Tolle, representing the Barco family, prominent pioneers in the development of Citrus County, Florida.

Charlie, while raising a family, worked long, hard hours to ensure the success of his fish and oyster business. In 1960 he built the Oyster Bar Restaurant with thirty seats near the highway as an outlet for the fresh, quality seafood he was producing at the fishhouse. The Oyster Bar was an immediate success with many local patrons, as well as hungry travelers, enjoying the incomparable fresh and delicious seafood being offered.

Charlie’s wife, Marion, asked him one day “Why do you work so hard and spend so much time at the business?”. He replied “because I want my two sons to have the opportunity to work and raise their families in Crystal River as I have been able to do!”

While the older son, Phil, was serving a four year “hitch” in the Navy the younger son, Jimmy, was being “adopted” by the commercial fisherman who fished for his Dad. By their example, he learned well the art of fishing and stone crabbing. When Phil got home from the Navy he became involved in the operation of the seafood business with his brother and dad.

By the mid-sixties the old oyster bar was expanded to seventy-five seats and about that time it was leased for several years to Tommy Williams and his family from Homosassa, another pioneering family in Citrus County. The old fishhouse on the waterfront continued to supply all the seafood used in the restaurant to ensure the freshness and quality that its customers had come to rely on.

In the early seventies Jimmy and Phil bought Dad out. He and Mom retired to the north, Central New York state farm country and later to the Tennessee Smokey Mountains.

During the seventies and eighties, while raising their families, Jimmy and Phil continued the seafood tradition that had begun years earlier.

In 1990 the decision was made by the two brothers to build a larger restaurant with seating for 160 guests on the waterfront. This was accomplished by building the restaurant adjacent to the fishhouse seafood market and joining the two by a common façade. With the new construction the name of the business was changed to Charlie’s Fish House in honor of the man who, in 1948, happened upon Crystal River with his young family. He was so impressed by the pristine quaintness of the town and the river, envisioning the potential for living and raising his family in a paradise, that he stayed to become a part of its history.

“Charlie’s” has evolved over a sixty year period from a rustic structure on partially developed land to the way it is seen today. Charlie started it, Jimmy and Phil, through the years have done the major redevelopment, and now the third generation of Kofmehl’s are involved in all operations of the business with the fourth generation fast becoming an integral part of the family tradition. This "hands on approach" in all phases of the day to day business activities are still practiced today; from our Fleet of Boats (Fishing, Stone Crab and Blue Crab), Processing Plant, Charlie's Seafood Restaurant, Charlie's Retail Fish & Seafood Market,  Guided Fishing Charter Service and Charlie's Stone Crabs Online Sales are witness to the Kofmehl Family's continued commitment to provide you the best quality seafood available.

The one thing we have endeavored not to change is the quality of our seafood and our service. We, the staff and management with over 250 years of combined experience in the seafood industry work very hard at this everyday to ensure your dining pleasure and also to provide you with the freshest seafood to take home.

We do very little commercial advertising because you, our customers, have proven to be out best advertisement.

Thank you, from all the “crew” at Charlie’s.