Customers of a seafood restaurant that’s been a staple of the D.C. area for more than three decades are mourning its late owner. News4’s Aimee Cho reports.
Customers of a seafood restaurant that’s been a staple of the D.C. area for more than three decades are mourning its late owner.
Richard Shannon, the owner of Horace & Dickie’s Seafood in Suitland, Maryland, died Sunday at 84, his family said. He died of complications of COVID-19 though he was vaccinated and boosted, they said.
Shannon, lovingly known as Mr. Dickie, ran his restaurant on H Street NE for more than 30 years before closing it in early March 2020, citing an influx of new restaurants in the area, plus problems with parking.
Shannon touched countless lives, his wife of 32 years, Nancy Shannon, said Wednesday. If someone was hungry, he gave them food, no questions asked. He also gave opportunities for work.
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“He gave everybody a chance. If they needed a job, even if they had a little blemish on their record, he would give them a chance,” Nancy Shannon said.
He also was a hit with customers.
“He was a very intelligent man, and he had a sense of humor,” she said. “People loved to talk to Mr. Dickie.”
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A tribute to Mr. Dickie stood in a corner of Horace & Dickie’s Suitland restaurant on Wednesday.
Shannon spoke with News4 two years ago, as he closed the D.C. restaurant. He said he was sad to leave the area after so long, but that it was a relief too.
One customer said the food at the H Street carryout was worth the wait.
“Every day at lunchtime, you would catch a line from in there to out the door, and you’d be waiting at least 15, 20 minutes to get some good fish,” he said.
Shannon will be sorely missed by customers and his family, his wife said.
“I’m just going to miss him all around. He was my best friend,” she said. “He was not just a husband. He was my best friend.”
