VENTURA : 2 Join Bidding to Build Pier Restaurant
Investors hoping to run a restaurant at the end of the Ventura Pier should have 2 1/2 weeks to submit a proposal to Ventura City Hall, a council committee recommended Wednesday.
Less than a month after negotiations fell through with Seattle businessman Hal Griffith--the council’s original choice to operate the restaurant--the city already has offers from two local restaurateurs.
Both Eric Wachter, owner of Eric Ericsson’s Fish Co. restaurant, and Sandy Smith, owner of Rosarita Beach Cafe, say they want to compete for a chance to build a seafood restaurant on the wooden pier.
“If you are looking at fast-tracking this, it wouldn’t take me too long to put some (plans) together,” Smith told the council committee.
City staff told council members that if they didn’t quickly pick someone local, the restaurant might not open until the summer of 1996, instead of next summer as originally planned.
The City Council will discuss the issue at its Monday night meeting. Committee members said they will recommend setting the bid deadline for the first full week in July.
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