Finally, this week, Palm Beach Gardens residents Lynn Parsons and his brother Dean visited Waterway Cafe? for the first time in 18 months. They are among the long list of die-hard regulars who haven't been able to dine there since the restaurant closed for floor-to-ceiling remodeling repairs in 2023.
Lynn hoped the menu would still list his favorite fried fish platter.
Though he couldn’t remember the exact name, Dean was optimistic about “a seafood dish that was absolutely delicious.”
With 18 fish dishes, chances are both found something to satisfy their cravings. Waterway's dedicated lunch menu is being finessed and could be ready by January’s end. But right now, daily specials augment the significant seafood and steak offerings.
Hitting refresh
Marc Mariacher, who owns and operates the restaurant with his wife Cindy, said the entire property was remodeled, notably the crumbling seawall and what the cafe boasts is Florida’s only floating bar — one that not only moved with every wave but was also sinking.
As the restaurant's previous owners told Mariacher, the bar was initially built atop two pontoons in the early years. He said the city stepped in and required the bar to have a captain on board at all times since it was a floating vessel, so the former owners had to find bartenders with captain's licenses. Enough lifejackets for everyone at the bar were also required.
Opened Jan. 17, the newly constructed, but still floating bar puts the cafe and its guests on much more stable footing.
However, a water feature out front is still being tweaked. So too, the hugely popular two tiki-hut dining area where the seawall remains under construction. Mariacher expects that section to reopen in four to six weeks.
The massive tinted skylight is now translucent and ready to take on a hurricane. Windows have been replaced by sliding glass doors, providing an open and airy feel.
A new fireplace, comfy deep couches in nautical colors that you want to sink into and verdant live plants peppered throughout add panache to the modern surroundings.
Making this multi-multi-million dollar refurbishment possible?
Property owners Scott and Jill Yates who have “a strong commitment to keeping this restaurant in the community,” said Mariacher.
An understanding of historical properties
Mariacher and his wife Cindy purchased the restaurant during the 2020 pandemic.
He knows quite a bit about historic restaurants, including his, which opened in 1986.
“It was an old restaurant that needed a lot of repairs out of necessity. It had a heck of a run.”
Prior to purchasing Waterway, he spent six years as general manager at West Palm Beach’s Bimini Twist. Before that, he held the same title for 21 of Taboo’s 82 years in Palm Beach. Cindy made Taboo history as its first female bartender.
The couple initially thought about changing Waterfront’s concept and name, but after the first week as its new owners, that idea was a no-go.
“I probably spoke to 40 people who first met their spouse here decades ago, and now they were enjoying a drink with their adult kids. So many memories were created here, and that's a tradition we want to continue,” said Mariacher.
Waterway Cafe – What to know
Address: 2300 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens
Call: 561-694-1700 (Reservations are not taken at this time.)
Website: waterwaycafe.com (Old photography is still on the website)
Etc: Ample parking, valet available. Dine and dock permitted; a reservation hotline for dock and dine and yacht catering menus will be created in the coming months.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Prices: Cocktails from $12 to $22. Starters from $10 for soup to $30 for jumbo lump crab caike. Main courses $21 for Thai peanut salad to $53 for steak au poivre. A 20% service charge is added to each check.
Diana Biederman is the Palm Beach Post's food & restaurant writer, fresh from two years at the Naples Daily News. If you have any news tips about the local dining scene, please send them to [email protected]. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.