Imagine for a moment taking a water shuttle during the warm New England months from East Boston’s shore to an attractive restaurant anchored just off Piers Park.
This concept of a ‘floating restaurant’ is exactly what Boston harbor Cruises’ Principal Owner Rick Nolan wants to bring to the neighborhood.
At last week’s Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA) meeting, Nolan and Harry Collins of Development Consulting pitched their plan for a this floating concept restaurant that will be dubbed ‘The Mooring’.
“We’d like to put something like this in the harbor near East Boston for several reasons,” said Nolan. “The views of the city from East Boston is the primary reason and after talking with people like City Councilor Sal LaMattina we learned that people in East Boston are interested in hosting more destinations on the waterfront.”
Already, without major waterfront development, restaurants like K.O. Pies have peaked citywide interest in Eastie as a destination dining location on the waterfront.
“We already have a restaurant and bar called The Landing on Long Wharf and we’d like to move that concept out into the harbor,” said Nolan.
According to Nolan and Collins The Mooring would be accessible via a free water shuttle provided by the restaurant from points along Eastie and South Boston’s Seaport District. Private boat owners would also be able to dock free of charge at the restaurant. The restaurant would operate during the warmer months with a season stretching from May to October.
“While we have very limited food at The Landing the menu at The Mooring would be much more extensive,” said Nolan.
According to Nolan the menu would be mainly seafood options with entrees ranging between $14-$18.
Nolan said the company still needs to present its proposal to the Boston Harbor Master and the U.S. Coast Guard before nailing down an exact location off of Eastie’s shores but Nolan said he is looking to go somewhere in between the Logan Hyatt and Piers Park.
At the JPNA meeting, the neighborhoods response to the proposal was very positive. Private boat owners in the crowd, like John and Melissa Tyler, welcomed the idea of bringing their boat to a floating restaurant for free instead of the $20 per hour docking fee charged at other waterfront restaurants along Boston Harbor.
“I thought it went very positive,” said Nolan of last week’s meeting. “We are very encouraged by the positive response we got from residents.”
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