Long-delayed over-the-water restaurant opens at Seaport Village

Three years after it was expected to make its debut at Seaport Village, the long-awaited Shorebird Restaurant has now opened, situated in an iconic location suspended over San Diego Bay.

Shorebird takes the place of the shuttered two-level Pier Cafe, which opened in 1980 and was long known for its over-the-water site. Although it had its soft opening about a week ago, the restaurant’s official grand opening to the public is Friday.

Orange-based Wild Thyme Restaurant Group, whose portfolio of dining venues includes several Shorebird locations, has invested $4 million in the makeover of the former Pier Cafe, which closed a few years ago. Heinrich Stasiuk, founder and chairman of Wild Thyme, blamed the delayed opening on what he said was a lengthy permitting process with the city that took much longer than he expected.

When San Diego Port commissioners first approved a 10-year lease for Shorebird in 2021, it was expected that the new restaurant would open by 2022.

“It’s been a painful journey, and the budget increased from $3 million to $4 million,” he said. “Part of it was the city finding stuff, like the existing gas line, we had to replace that, and also the floor planks — just a lot of stuff we had to restore. We rebuilt the building with all new wood. It’s an older building so it had to be done.

“But it’s such a great location, and we wanted to do the right thing to get the building where it needs to be. We never looked it as a quick fix, but a long-term project.”

Part of that work included repairing the pylons that allow the restaurant to be suspended over the water, as well as replacing damaged wood and anchors.

Shorebird is designed as an indoor-outdoor restaurant with slightly more seating on the patio where there are unobstructed bay views. In all, it seats 110. The 4,000-square-foot site — including patio space — has been updated with a new color palette of charcoal and white with blue accents.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Shorebird features, in addition to fresh fish, a raw bar with sushi rolls and oysters; rotisserie chicken; and various soups, salads and meat dishes.

Stasiuk wants patrons to know that the Shorebird brand is known for its scratch kitchen, meaning everything is made in-house, from the side dishes to fresh-baked bread.

“We don’t use frozen or canned food,” Stasiuk said. “We are absolutely against it. Our slogan is, we are more than just food. We also care about the communities we go into. We want to be a good ambassador and see what their needs are. We don’t want to be thought of a tourist trap. What do the locals want — fresh, healthy items, food from scratch, fun cocktails and beers. And we source all our seafood locally across Southern California.”

Shorebird is among several new dining concepts that have come to Seaport Village since the Port of San Diego took over managing the popular tourist destination. At the same time Port commissioners OK’d the lease for Shorebird, it also approved one for Gladstone’s, a seafood restaurant that has taken over the former Edgewater Grill. It’s expected to open early next year.

“Since the Port of San Diego began revitalizing the bayfront center, we have been intentional in offering a mix of local favorites and fresh offerings where locals and visitors can shop, dine and unwind,” said port Chairperson Danielle Moore. “With Shorebird’s iconic location on an over-water pier, its coastal flavors, relaxed setting and amazing views, it’s another great spot to make great memories with family and friends.”

Under Shorebird’s negotiated port lease, which went into effect in May 2023, Wild Thyme is supposed to pay a minimum annual rent of $204,408 in year one, which will increase annually. It’s also subject to percentage rent, as is the case with all port restaurant tenants, meaning it will be charged 6% of gross sales over $3.4 million in each year. In exchange, the port was required to give Shorebird a $227,500 allowance for venue improvements, although the operator was required to spend a minimum of $750,000 on upgrades to the restaurant.

Still on tap for Seaport Village is a proposed $3.8 billion redevelopment of the waterfront center that calls for 2.7 million square feet of mixed-use development, including a 500-foot observation tower at the foot of Pacific Highway.

While Stasiuk says he’s well aware of those plans, it’s unclear when construction would even start on the long-planned project.

“There are a lot of mixed messages,” he said, “so I just don’t know how it will affect us. We have a lengthy contract for now, and we are just very excited to be open. It’s been a long time coming. We’re happy to be part of Seaport Village, which is an international destination, and to be there is a big deal for us.”