New restaurant promises floating platform, on-the-water dining

New restaurant promises floating platform, on-the-water dining

SAN DIEGO – The Cohn Restaurant Group broke ground on a new $10 million restaurant situated on Harbor Drive in early October. One of the many features of the restaurant includes a floating platform and panoramic views of the bay.

Located at 880 Harbor Island Drive, the new 24,000 square foot restaurant will feature a lounge and event center on the parcel that was once home to the 120-foot paddlewheel steamboat replica, Rueben E. Lee. The vessel once housed a restaurant before it was partially sunk and underwent repairs at a local boatyard. Sunroad Enterprises was working to revamp the restaurant and turn it into an open-air outdoor events area.

The property belongs to the Port of San Diego and is situated at the east end of Harbor Island.

The yet-to-be-named restaurant will serve modern Mexican food when it opens in spring 2015. At that time, guests will enjoy the city’s newest indoor/outdoor dining, banquet, wedding and event space, according to the Cohn Restaurant Group.

The group is partnering with Sunroad Harbor Island on the restaurant thsat was designed by Gensler and the late Graham Downes, which offers “on-the-water dining.”

The restaurant will accommodate 322 guests with more than 50 percent of seating provided outdoors. More than 1,000 guests can enjoy the outdoor floating event deck and more than 300 people can be seated in the banquet room.

“There’s a tremendous desire by San Diegans and those who visit the city to be on the water—not near the water, or with a view of the water—but directly on the water,” said David Cohn, founder of Cohn Restaurant Group.

Dockage will not be offered at the new site, however, transient boaters can dock at Sunroad at Harbor Island which is a short walk to the new restaurant, explained Stephanie Chavez, senior publicist for H2 Public Relations.

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