A photograph of Rosalie McCormick hangs in the lobby of Aunt Catfish's on the River. Her story is posted with it. She fished Rose Bay and was a regular at Marko's, and "Aunt Catfish" was her nickname. The restaurant has carried her name since 1979. It still does, although the family that named it no longer owns it.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported the sale on Sept. 4. The sale had closed two days earlier, ending ownership by the Galbreath family that began when the restaurant opened. Most coverage stopped at whether the restaurant would stay open. It will. The bigger change for Port Orange is where the Galbreaths are going next. They are moving from the Halifax River dining room their family ran for 47 years to the corner of Dunlawton and South Ridgewood, where they still own land that hasn't been built on yet.
What the New Owners Bought, and What They Kept
Halifax Catfish LLC bought the business on Sept. 2 for an undisclosed amount. Hometown News Volusia describes the buyer as an experienced, family-owned restaurant group from Gainesville. The real estate was a separate deal. Hometown business columnist Cecil G. Brumley reported that the property was bought under the name Arbuda LLC for $3.7 million, a price that does not include the parking. Both LLCs list the same officers: Pankajkumar, Ashokkumar, Vipulkumar Chaudhari and Gaurav Arora.
As of the September coverage, the plan was continuity. The buyers run four other restaurants. According to the Galbreaths, the current staff and management are staying, and no new general manager or back-of-house team has been brought in. The name, the familiar dishes and Sunday brunch are all part of the plan to keep things as they are. That includes the warm cinnamon rolls, the Southern catfish and the "Fish Camp Fixin's" bar.
"They want to learn how Catfish does things. They understand the value of that." Brendan Galbreath, speaking to Hometown News Volusia
These were the stated plans at the time of the sale. For reservations or brunch questions, the restaurant is still at 4009 Halifax Drive, and the phone number is 386-767-4768. Its website is auntcatfishontheriver.com.
Seventy Years of the Same Few Blocks
The sale makes more sense once you see how little the family has moved over the years. Its restaurants have stayed within a short distance of where the business started.
- 1950s. Ann Galbreath, Brendan's grandmother, opens Marko's Drive-In, a 16-seat diner on South Ridgewood Avenue.
- The following decades. Her son Jim Galbreath takes it over and grows it into Marko's Heritage Inn, with about 450 seats.
- 1978. Jim buys the vacant Dave's Dock property on the Halifax River and renovates it.
- 1979. Aunt Catfish's opens. Brendan is 6 years old and remembers being in the building before it opened.
- Early 1980s. After a slow start, the restaurant "caught fire, and it was no looking back," in Brendan's words.
- 2010. Brendan buys Aunt Catfish's from his father.
- Sept. 2, 2026. The family sells Aunt Catfish's to Halifax Catfish LLC.
The family started with a 16-seat diner on South Ridgewood. Two generations later, their newest restaurant is on South Ridgewood again, a short walk from the river. Hometown reports that Brendan and Shannon Galbreath had talked about selling for several years as their plans for Catfish Commons grew and their children took on bigger roles in the family's other restaurants. Shannon said the decision was still emotional: "Even to this day, we're still, as a family, trying to get through it."
What's Already Open at Catfish Commons
Catfish Commons has a four-unit retail building at 4075 S. Ridgewood Ave., on the southeast corner of Dunlawton and Ridgewood. According to its property page, it has two outdoor patios, 36 parking spaces and an end-cap unit with drive-through access. Hometown's report on the retail center's opening named the four tenants.
| Tenant | What it is | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Farm Social | Fast-casual restaurant in Unit 104 | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| Foxtail Coffee Co. | Coffee shop | Not confirmed for this location |
| Revival IV Lounge | IV therapy, vitamin injections, micronutrient testing | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends |
| Axiom Bank | Bank branch | Lobby 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to noon Saturday |
Farm Social is the family's restaurant at the corner. It opened Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in a 1,500-square-foot space. The menu covers smash burgers, salads and lobster rolls, plus beer, wine, floats and desserts. Most of the seating is outside. There are 30 seats indoors and 50 outdoors, along with a 14-seat community table, a walk-up pickup window, cornhole and a chess and checkers table. Its website also takes online orders.
Brooke and Ryan Galbreath now help run the family's restaurants. One of them, Casualbird, is across the river. Hometown's September story places it at Catfish Commons, but Casualbird's own website lists its address as 109 Dunlawton Blvd. in Daytona Beach Shores. Both of the family's current restaurants sit along Dunlawton, one on each side of the causeway.
The Land the Family Kept
The part of the sale with the longest reach is the land the Galbreaths didn't sell. Brendan and Shannon still own several properties within Catfish Commons, including two undeveloped parcels. They plan to concentrate on development while Brooke and Ryan run the restaurants.
Hometown describes two possible projects. One would turn the former funeral-home property across from Aunt Catfish's into a mixed-use development. Its residential part could be apartments, condominiums or something else, depending on market conditions. The other would add boat slips to the marina. Hometown's report gives no timeline for either one.
The idea has been on file for a while. The Port Orange City Manager's weekly update for April 22, 2022, described a proposed Catfish Commons expansion. It included a drive-through restaurant, a three-story mixed-use building south of La Cantina and a marina of about 20 slips, and it kept Aunt Catfish's existing parking and building layout. The retail building with its drive-through end cap is now open. The marina page on the Catfish Commons website still says "Coming Fall 2025." The family's most recent public comments treat added slips as a possibility, so the old date on the website doesn't tell you when anything will be built.
Brooke Galbreath summed up the family's view to Hometown: "We're just getting started." She also spoke warmly about the buyers: "They're great people. They're so kind, and I'm excited for them."
A Different Kind of September Goodbye on Dunlawton
Another Port Orange restaurant changed in September, and it shows how differently these transitions can go. Peach Valley Café at 3813 S. Nova Road, inside Dunlawton Square next to Joy Luck Buffet, served its last customers on Sept. 29 after nearly nine years. Owner Eric Holm told the News-Journal that the team had been weighing the decision "for some time." He said they decided not to renew the lease, and the landlord then needed to show the space to prospective tenants. "That moved the timing forward faster than we would have preferred," he wrote. He named current economic conditions and a planned rent increase as reasons for closing.
The chain, founded in 2001, has seven Florida locations. Its only remaining Volusia County restaurant is at 1185 W. Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach, so that is now the closest Peach Valley brunch for Port Orange.
Peach Valley's lease ran out, and the closing date moved up once the space had to be shown. The Galbreaths planned their exit over several years. They chose a buyer who agreed to keep the staff, and they still own undeveloped land within Catfish Commons. Both businesses are on Dunlawton. The difference was ownership, and it decided how each change played out. For the Dunlawton and Ridgewood corner, that means its future will be shaped largely by the family that owns the undeveloped land there. Plans for that land are still at the possibility stage.
What to Watch Through the Rest of 2026
- Sunday brunch at Aunt Catfish's. As of the September coverage, the plan was to keep it the same, with the same staff. Any changes would most likely show up first in the menu or the hours.
- The former funeral-home parcel. Hometown describes a mixed-use conversion as a possibility, with the residential mix depending on market conditions.
- Marina slips. The family has called more slips a possibility. The "Fall 2025" date on the website is out of date.
- The Dunlawton Square space. Peach Valley's former unit at 3813 S. Nova Road was being shown to prospective tenants when the restaurant closed.
If you own a home near Dunlawton and South Ridgewood and want to know how the changes at Catfish Commons could affect what your home is worth, Stacy Kelly can walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and I'll keep you updated as plans for the corner become clearer.
