SeaLegs boasts four beachside restaurants, each with their own flavor

Choose a hammock, beach chair or cabana as you look out upon the ocean while sipping on a glass of wine.

The breeze drifts in and the combination of waves crashing and reggae music plays as you relax, making you feel like you’re in Cabo, Hawaii or the Hamptons.

But you’re in Huntington Beach.

Alicia Whitney, owner of the four-year-old SeaLegs Wine Bar, has brought a resort-type feel to Bolsa Chica State Beach by converting four former vacant concession stands into eateries.

“We saw an opportunity here,” said the 36-year-old Huntington Beach woman, who formerly worked in marketing for Las Vegas venues and events.

“The state wanted to revamp Bolsa Chica, and these four concessions were just sitting here for years. They were really just like homeless housing or for critters. We saw a vision of something grander. Talk about a real diamond in the rough.”

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The restaurants — which each opened this summer are located at four separate stands across the beach — offer different types of foods.

SeaLegs at the Beach, which is boasted by Whitney as a “mini SeaLegs Wine Bar,” serves fares like flatbreads, sandwiches and salads, as well as beer and wine.

The inviting atmosphere offers cabanas, firepits and beach chairs for rent, as well as picnic tables for large groups.

“If you are lucky enough to drink wine by the sea, you are lucky enough,” reads a sign toward the back wall of the one-acre property.

Pacific Kitchen offers poke, breakfast burritos, tacos, ceviche and guacamole.

SeaSalt Beachside Burger — modeled after SeaSalt Woodfire Grill, a barbecue restaurant that Whitney opened earlier this year — specializes in burgers with fresh seasalt and craft beers.

Beach City Provision, a gourmet sandwich shop, is expected to open later this summer with a stage for entertainment and an area for yoga in the mornings. The amenities would particularly cater to nearby campers, Whitney said.

Each of the four beach restaurants is open in compliance with beach hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday during the summer.

Whitney said the locations will be open on “weather-permitting” weekends during off-season months.

Whitney said she bid on all four properties, only expecting to possibly land one.

To make matters more complicated, she was already working on opening SeaSalt Woodfire Grill.

Within one year, Whitney found herself opening the four beach locations, the barbecue restaurant. A second SeaLegs Wine Bar at Los Angeles International Airport also opened last year.

“It was an accident,” she said. “I did not want this to happen. I tried everything I could do to get Seasalt done sooner but then the building had delays and then I had delays. The next thing I knew, I was building five restaurants at the same time.”

Chief Culinary Officer Alexander Dale began working with Whitney when SeaLegs was still in the planning phases.

From there, he said the work has been “nonstop but really fun.”

“It’s been very challenging but I’ve been having a blast doing it,” he said. “This is definitely not a stale workplace.”

Dale, who created the menus for each of the restaurants, said he wanted each menu to be unique.

“Our goal was to just take the spirit of normal beach food and elevate it,” the 36-year-old Huntington Beach resident said. “We want this to be a really cool summertime hangout.”

Whitney said she doesn’t mind how busy her life is now that she owns seven restaurants.

The only thing she requests? More hours in the day.

“When I first opened SeaLegs, people asked me if I was worried about opening in a shaky economy,” she said. “I told them if I marketed it, they will come. As long as we can provide good food, value and a good environment, they’ll come.”

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Brittany Woolsey, brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey