HOLMES BEACH – If you’ve noticed any changes at The Freckled Fin since Oct. 1 it might be due to the restaurant’s new ownership.
Holmes Beach resident and Commissioner Rick Hurst, along with Island residents and friends Guy Yatros, Rick Cloutier and Sean McCarthy purchased the restaurant, taking over management at the first of the month. Hurst said that eventually, McCarthy will take over day-to-day operations of the restaurant. Right now, the project is something the four friends are excited to work on together.
“We’ve always wanted to do it,” Hurst said of purchasing a restaurant. He said he and his friends enjoy going to The Freckled Fin and “thought that’s a great place with a great atmosphere,” so when the business became available, Hurst said they took advantage of the opportunity.
“It’s pretty much a turnkey operation,” he said.
Going forward, patrons will see some changes or tweaks coming to the restaurant, Hurst said. One of the more notable changes being enacted immediately is that patrons will no longer have to order at the bar. Hurst said one of the biggest complaints he heard from patrons was a lack of table service, so the new management has decided to remedy the situation, along with considering replacement of the restaurant’s credit card system to simplify card processing and allow patrons to tip after the card is run by servers.
Another change Hurst said they hope to make is to simplify the menu over time. While the same chefs and staff are planned to remain at The Freckled Fin, Hurst said some changes may come to the menu in the way of a concentration on fresh food and paring down menu selections. He said the plan is to find out which items patrons prefer and to “get good at select things rather than be average at a lot of things.” During this process, the new owners are hoping to receive feedback from the community about which menu items are favorites and which ones patrons would prefer not change. He said anyone concerned about a favorite menu item changing should let management and restaurant workers know.
Management also is evaluating the sound system to see if there are any improvements needed. Hurst said they want to be very conscious of noise and respectful of residential neighbors.
Right now, Hurst said they’re just trying to get into the swing of things and provide patrons with an experience that just gets better with each visit.
“We like the place; that’s why we bought it,” he said. “We saw some areas for improvement and really hope to make it better.”
The Freckled Fin is at 5337 Gulf Drive, Suite 600 in Holmes Beach.
