RSS Feed
|
| ||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Snack concessions on the beach
Though the operators of the Jetties and Children's Beach concessions are new this season, customers at the Surfside stand are greeted by a long-familiar face and a guy who knows how to make a mean burger - by some accounts the yummiest around and the best bang for your buck with a juicy quarter-pounder going for between $4.50 and $6 depending on embelishments.
The Surfside stand, overlooking one of the island's most popular beaches and its expanse of rolling waves, was built in 1978 and renovated 10 years ago. Before the town constructed the concession, the late Charles Pearl Jr. ran his own food stand at the base of the sand hill leading to the sea. He sold hot dogs, burgers, soda and ice cream from a dory, said his father, who is not sure how many years his son had that business. Ballard's stand sells burgers (he will not divulge his secret to making a good one, but said he does things differently from other short-order cooks), beef hot dogs, sandwiches, chips, beverages and ice cream. A shelf mounted beneath the stand's deck railing holds pump jugs of mustard and ketchup. Ballard also sells sun screen, beach toys and towels and rents beach chairs and umbrellas.
"It's great to go to work in a pair of shorts at the beach," Ballard said of his happiness to have regained the lease on the stand. "I had a great clientele built up and I always wanted to come back. Word has been spreading pretty fast that I'm back. I think the food tastes better when the quality is there. Sure it's fun to eat a hot dog at the beach, but when you take the time to do it right it tastes that much better." Ballard has a distinct philosophy about maintaining low prices. "If you go with the high prices you might feed them once, but if you keep the prices down and they are here you'll feed them every day." The Surfside stand opens about 9 a.m. and stays open until pretty much everyone has left the beach. Ballard said some nights he is the last one there until about 7 or 7:30 p.m., but he does not mind the schedule. "I love it. It's funky," he said. "I usually hire all high school kids. They earn pocket money and if they are living with their parents and have to go home [because fog or rain clears the beach of patrons] it's okay. They're not trying to pay a big rent." THE JETTIES PAVILION Marshall Thompson, proprietor of Even Keel on Main Street for five years, assumed operations at the Jetties concession this summer and turned it into much more than a snack bar. With its nearby playground equipment, grassy dunes and long stretch of sand to the water, the Jetties pavilion, which Parks and Rec director Jim Manchester believes was built around 1906, is truly a seaside treat. Thompson obtained a liquor license, got the old wooden bar from the closed West End Restaurant, installed an awning over the eating deck with roll-down sides for inclement weather and jazzed up the menu while still keeping it affordable. He has a "grab and go" counter service inside for breakfast and lunch fare, has newspapers and wireless Internet access and sells towels, toys and other provisions from a shop adjacent to the bar area that also includes changing rooms and rest rooms. For his full-service yet still casual dinner, Thompson offers appetizers, 11 different pasta dishes from simple to gourmet, salads, an Italian burger, varieties of thin crust pizza, a raw bar, lobster and a special shore dinner. He is a busy man who likes life that way and enjoys diverse experiences. "I like the challenge of opening a new place and it's a beautiful spot I felt could be utilized in a different way than it has been in the last 10 years," Thompson said of the Jetties concession. "I had staff ready to step up and take on extra at Even Keel, though I'm splitting my time between both places. "I liked Jetties because it's seasonal, and that appealed to me because it's a real struggle to run a year-round restaurant here. You only make money six or seven weeks of the year. Jetties has an absolutely gorgeous beach that is close to town and all kinds of people have been coming here if they have kids, and now people are coming even if they don't have kids. It has become a dinner destination, not just a beach destination where you would grab a burger. We are busy - we're averaging 250 to 300 dinners a night." An added evening feature is beach chairs parked in the sand near the concession where adults can have a drink and look out at the water while waiting for dinner. "It's the best waiting room I can imagine," said Thompson. The Jetties concession is also leasable for functions from clambakes to weddings to family reunions and corporate meetings, whether Thompson's staff or a private caterer prepares the food. "I love it down here," said Thompson. "It's gorgeous and just really chill - people like it. There hasn't been a casual restaurant on the beach. It's in the dunes. It's classic." NUCCI'S AT CHILDREN'S BEACH Patty Hainey took over what used to be Mac's Place at Children's Beach, introducing Italian ice and gelato she makes herself and assorted menu items including six selections of made-to-order panini sandwiches, salads and breakfast foods spanning doughnuts (the Downyflake recipe she inherited with the business), muffins, pastries, espresso and lattes served from 7 a.m. The concession at Children's Beach, which Manchester thinks was built between 1914 and 1924, is surrounded in late June and July with pink and white Rosa Rugosa that line one side of the playground where kids can swing and climb the jungle gym while waiting for lunch or treats. Hainey, who was a veterinarian technician at the island's animal hospital from 1999 to 2005 and also assisted her husband in their Ice House business, has taken her first foray into the food service industry and feels very fortunate to be at Children's Beach. Sitting at a table on the concession's porch overlooking Brant Point, the harbor and a large lawn where families were playing ball, Hainey explained that in 2003 she was working on her master's degree in business and one project required students to develop a new product and the accompanying marketing and financial plans. She thought Italian ice would be a good complement to the Ice House business, and when she received supportive feedback, she and her husband decided they could make it work. Hainey looked at several locations for a shop but none felt right. Then last summer she learned that the Children's Beach stand was coming up for bid and put in her proposal. "I submitted the bid and here I am," she said. "This is such a great location. This is such a wonderful family-oriented spot. It's got a great atmosphere." She named the stand Nucci's after the Philadelphia-based company supplying the recipe for her gelato, which is a milk-based product with a silky smooth texture she creates in various flavors in gallon quantities at a time, three nights a week, and then stores in her freezer. The Italian ice is a water-based product with flavoring and a low amount of sugar, similar to a slush. Both cold desserts come in a cone or a dish. Hainey, who employs island high school students, puts in long hours, but said business is going well and she has no regrets about her commitment. "It was a lot of hard work going through the process and getting the bid, but it's all worth it," she said. "On my break I like to take my sandwich and sit on the beach and dip my toes in the water. We've been very busy. It's so much fun making the product. I just wish I could be out front more with the customers." I |
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)
)