TASTE OF THE TREASURE COAST
“ Simonsen’s Seafood Restaurant opened in 1947 at Fisherman’s Wharf. Later,
the family added a second story where the bar and lounge was housed.
There are so many variables of peanut butter pie, but the only one
that is worth cooking, or eating, is the one and only original from
Simonsen’s. Remember, any peanut butter pie someone gives you
with peanut butter in the filling isn’t the original. Don’t believe them!
— Rita ”
Piero 43
Simonsen’s recipe still whips up
sweet memories decades later
Ask anyone who either grew up in or visited Fort
Pierce in the 1950s through the late 1980s, and they
will know of The Peanut Butter Pie. While there
may be a couple of variations of it, the heart of this
inimitable recipe remains the same. The delicious dessert has
been circulating among local families for several decades, but
many wonder where the recipe originated from.
“Rumor has it that Mrs. Simonsen’s Peanut Butter Pie
recipe was come upon purely by accident,” says Nancy Bennett,
a Fort Pierce native and director of the St. Lucie County
Regional History Center. “She was trying to make her coconut
custard pie but ran out of the coconut and replaced that
with peanut butter instead.”
When Elna Simonsen’s husband, Olaf, voiced his love
for her inadvertent creation, she decided to make the pie a
regular menu offering at the restaurant they both owned —
Simonsen’s Seafood Restaurant.
The Simonsens were of Scandanavian descent and moved
to the Fort Pierce area in the 1930s. In 1940, they obtained the
title to the building where the restaurant would be located
on the south side of the road that led to the old South Bridge.
According to the city directory, the restaurant was open from
1947 to 1977 and then taken over by another couple who
maintained a similar menu and setting through the mid 1990s.
RECIPE WAS SHARED
The Simonsens held a weekly smörgåsbord every Sunday.
The buffet-style meal was well-known and thoroughly enjoyed
among Fort Pierce locals for many years.
“I moved to Fort Pierce in 1957 and Simonsen’s Restaurant
was around as long as I knew,” Don Clark, 91, says.
“Sunday dinners were a real special treat for the family.
There were all kinds of food and desserts and of course, that
peanut butter pie.”
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BY RACHEL CUCCURULLO
The restaurant overlooked the Indian River and was a popular weekday
lunch spot. It was also well-known for its weekly Sunday smörgåsbord.