VENTURA : Plans Unveiled for Restaurant on Pier

The first sketches of the Ventura Pier’s new restaurant show a two-story, Craftsman-style building with a copper roof and green trim, city officials said.

The restaurant’s architect unveiled his plans at a Monday meeting of Ventura’s Design Review Committee. The council has mandated that the restaurant open by summer, at the height of the tourist season.

It will be owned by Eric Wachter, who also owns Eric Ericsson’s Fish Co. on Seaward Avenue. Wachter won permission in July to open a business on the scenic site, beating out three other restaurateurs.

Al Okuma, a committee member, said he and his colleagues questioned architect Roy Colbert’s use of the full-blown Craftsman-style design. Okuma said use of extended exterior beams, typical of Craftsman design, might not be appropriate in an ocean-side setting because the sand and salt might wear down the unsupported wood.

Okuma said the commissioners also suggested modifying the design to make the restaurant look homier and more like a family establishment.

The proposal will come before the committee again in December for final approval.

Okuma said some committee members believe that the project is moving forward too quickly.

“We feel rushed and pressured to get it through the process,” he said. “This is a very, very ambitious schedule. It’s going to be such a landmark that it’s important it go off properly.”