A local businessman, former city councilman and prominent figure in the Morro Bay community has passed away.
George Leage died April 27 after a long battle with cancer, according to his family.
Born in 1937, Leage served as an Army drill sergeant during the Vietnam War.
He moved to Morro Bay in 1952 and his family began operating The Cannery on lower Main Street.
Morro Bay Harbor Director Eric Endersby says the business took part in oyster aquaculture and sold other fresh seafood purchased from commercial fishing boats.
In 1964, Leage began working at the Harbor Hut restaurant on the Embarcadero. He reportedly worked for his father-in-law until 1978 when Leage purchased the business. His son has owned it since 2009.
In 1981, Leage was a partner in what was formerly called Brede’s Restaurant. It eventually became Great American Fish Company with Leage as the sole owner.
In 1988, Endersby says Leage built a small hotel called Harbor House Inn, which is still operating today along Main Street.
Leage served on the Morro Bay City Council from 2010-2014 and also had a hand in The Outrigger Restaurant and Brannigan’s Reef Restaurant, according to Endersby.
The City of Morro Bay issued the following statement regarding Leage's passing:
The City of Morro Bay is deeply saddened by the recent passing of George Leage, and our condolences go out to his family and friends. George cared deeply for this community, and was a business icon on Morro Bay’s waterfront, starting or being deeply involved with many business ventures over the decades that successfully operate to this day. The community will miss him, the waterfront will miss him, we will miss him.
With many of Leage's sons still in the area, Endersby says the family has a long legacy in the town, especially in the restaurant business along the waterfront.
Tuesday, Morro Bay’s mayor will read a proclamation in honor of Leage at the start of the City Council meeting.
Funeral services are being planned.
