MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A popular seafood restaurant on Shem Creek has closed its doors for good.

R.B.’s Seafood, which has served customers for nearly 60 years, announced it was permanently closing the iconic location on Wednesday.

The property was sold to an Atlanta-based group, Geyer Capital Management LLC, for $7 million.

In a press release about the closing and sale of the property, the restaurant’s owner, Ronnie Boals, said leaving the restaurant after almost 60 years is bittersweet but said he is ready to retire.

Boals has been vacant from daily operations due to health issues recently and said he is simply looking forward to traveling and performing volunteer work.

The original R.B.’s Seafood Restaurant opened on Shem Creek in 1979 inside an old fish shed. It was later destroyed in a fire in 2002 but Boals rebuilt the business and reopened in September of 2003.

It has been an iconic restaurant on Shem Creek and a go-to spot for both locals and tourists.

“It’s been a great business. We had a lot of dedicated repeat customers,” Boals said. “I’m going to miss seeing them come in and out.”

The restaurant was already closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Geyer Capital Management has plans to renovate and upgrade the property before it reopens with a new tenant.