Wrecked by Hurricane Ian, The Waterfront Restaurant and Marina reopens

Reporter: Olivia Jean
Published: Updated:
waterfront restaurant
The Waterfront reopens after Hurricane Ian. CREDIT: WINK News

The Waterfront Restaurant and Marina in Saint James City finally opened its doors after sustaining heavy damage from Hurricane Ian.

Known for seafood and gorgeous sunsets, The Waterfront Restaurant and Marina is also frequently visited by manatees and dolphins swimming by in the tableside canal.

The building is one of the oldest on the island.

WINK News spoke with Declan Kiely, the owner of The Waterfront Restaurant and Marina, to see if business is booming.

“It’s been absolutely immense. It’s been fantastic. We’ve had people come multiple times to support us. Lots of friends and family. And I said people coming from wide and far people have traveled distances to come and see us and eat with us. It’s just been overwhelming the support that we’ve had, and we couldn’t we couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Kiely said.

The rebuild took a while, but Kiely is happy to reopen the restaurant.

“They came in, and they worked as fast as they could for us to get us open,” said Kiely

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, but if you want a seat outside to see the dolphins and manatees, be sure to get there early.

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