The as soon as-in vogue Harbor Grasp Tiki Grille might per chance well per chance even bear never reopened after Storm Helene, but a designate contemporary opinion is taking its location as a change.
Christian’s on the Water, an outdoors restaurant and tiki bar overlooking Bay Pines Marina, will soft birth this Saturday, May per chance presumably per chance simply 16th at 11am at 4999 Harbor Lights Drive in Seminole.
The restaurant and bar will attend drinks finest at some stage in opening weekend because it awaits final approval to birth food service on location.
The opinion that is the latest enterprise from Marc DeRusso and his fundamental other Amelia, owners of DeRusso’s Pizzeria in Tierra Verde and St. Pete. The St. Pete pizzeria is positioned simply down the boulevard from the contemporary restaurant.
DeRusso’s first restaurant, Bourbon Aspect freeway Grill in Colonie, NY, has been birth for 27 years.
Christian’s on the Water will provides beer, wine, and frozen, wine-based mostly cocktails, along with margaritas.
“On daily foundation, folks circulation by the food trailer and quiz when we’re going to be birth,” DeRusso says with a chortle. “I have been in enterprise for a in actual fact very lengthy time, but this has been one in all the most advanced places to secure birth, simply attributable to of the unfamiliar nature of each and every the tiki bar and food trailer.”
Final summer, Bowline Marinas bought the 7.9-acre Bay Pines Marina property.
Its contemporary owners approached DeRusso about taking on the outdated fashioned Harbor Grasp Tiki Grille residence, which sustained hurt at some stage in 2024’s support-to-support hurricanes and never reopened.
Over the final five months, DeRusso has refreshed the property with contemporary furnishings, air-conditioned portable lavatories, renovations to the 22-seat tiki bar and gloomy dining residence, and landscaping upgrades to the turfed courtyard, which entails adding Adirondack chairs and cornhole.
The outdoors restaurant plans to host reside acoustic song seven days a week. A diminutive retail residence will promote branded t-shirts, koozies, hats, sunscreen, and towels.
A contemporary 20-foot food trailer will attend what DeRusso describes as “coastal-inspired” dishes.
While DeRusso’s other restaurants focal level on pizza, Christian’s on the Water will offer a unfold of casual dishes, along with grouper sandwiches, peel-and-expend minute, smoked fish unfold, wreck burgers, and rice bowls topped with pulled pork, crimson meat, or hen.
The restaurant also plans to present a “hook and cook dinner” service, allowing fishermen to raise their salvage to be grilled or fried.
Once fully operational, Christian’s on the Water plans to birth weekend breakfast service starting at 9 am on Saturdays and Sundays, providing egg bowls and breakfast sandwiches.
The restaurant is on the market by car, by bicycle (resulting from its proximity to The Pinellas Path), and by boat, providing a dozen slips for its prospects to exhaust while they dine and drink.
Following its soft opening duration, Christian’s shall be birth from 11 am to 10pm on weekdays and unless boring evening on weekends.
DeRusso tells St. Pete Rising that the restaurant is called after his late son Christian, and the enterprise’ soft opening coincides with the anniversary of his passing.
He hopes the enterprise will no longer finest present colossal food, drinks, and hospitality, but will attend as a living tribute for his son.
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