Council to decide fate of Newport Pier building

Chipped wood, peeling blue paint, a few overturned tables and a weathered surfboard-shaped beer sign are the only remnants of the restaurant that once occupied the two-story building at the edge of the Newport Pier.

The wood structure has extensive dry rot and water damage. Inside, the electrical system doesn’t work and the once-bustling kitchen is out of commission.

“The building is not in great shape,” said Dave Webb, public works director for the city of Newport Beach.

The building’s fate is in the hands of the Newport Beach City Council, which will decide whether to rebuild or demolish the city-owned structure. Council members are expected to discuss the issue at a study session Tuesday afternoon.

The building has been occupied by various restaurants for as long as most residents can remember. Newport Pier Grill and Sushi made a home there most recently, from 1993 until 2012, when its lease with the city ended.

Vernon Martin of Ontario remembers taking his son to the pier to eat at the restaurant a decade ago. Back then, he said, many people would walk the roughly 1,000-foot pier to enjoy a meal with ocean views.

“I remember the food being good, but people really went for the view,” he said.

Tourists and locals still take walks along the pier. But the majority of the pier’s use is by fishermen who show up before the sun rises to claim their spots at the end of the span.

Restaurant concepts have worked well on the Balboa Pier, where Ruby’s Diner has operated successfully for years, and at other piers throughout the state, according to a 122-page retail study prepared for Newport Beach by GRC Associates in 2013.

Of the five piers in Orange County, four have restaurants at the end. The other, in San Clemente, has a restaurant at the entrance.

Councilman Keith Curry said the city has received interest from restaurateurs looking to capitalize on tourism at the beach.

“There’s a great tradition of a restaurant on the pier,” he said. “I’m hopeful we can find someone to come in and partner with the city on the project.”

But rebuilding the former restaurant to prepare it for a tenant would mean a hefty bill for the city.

If the spot is to be maintained as a restaurant or another type of business, the city would have to demolish and rebuild the shell at a cost of about $1.4 million, Webb said. The future tenant would be responsible for renovations inside, he said.

The California Coastal Commission would have to approve before the city could remove or rebuild the structure, meaning it could be years before work would begin, Webb said.