Gwynn’s Islanders turned out en masse at Tuesday night’s Mathews County Board of Supervisors meeting to express their anger at the board’s decision to issue a request for proposals for the county-owned Seabreeze Restaurant, a favorite gathering place for the island community.

Following the public hearing, supervisors voted by a 4-1 margin to approve a motion to continue using the Seabreeze as a restaurant, directing the county administrator and county attorney to enter into a contract with Mac Casale, the lone complete bidder, to operate the restaurant.

A restless standing-room-only crowd packed the small historic courthouse and spilled outside, but a request to change the venue to Thomas Hunter Middle School was turned down by the board. County Administrator Mindy Conner later explained that the recording equipment used to keep a record of the meetings is operable only in the courthouse.

The RFP was issued after the current leaseholder, Garry Galluzzi of New Jerse...