by ASHLEY MILLER
for the Sequim Gazette
If you haven’t dined at the Dockside Grill before, now is the time to do so.
If the waterfront restaurant at the John Wayne Marina already is a favorite place to eat, stop by or make dinner reservations to check out the new Pelican Room.
The Pelican Room is a 600-square-foot addition to the main restaurant that seats 16 people at tables and about 10 people at the bar.
“We turned away more than 4,000 people over the summer,” said owner Steve Little. “It was obvious we needed extra space. So when the Port offered it to us, we eagerly revised our lease.”
Steve and Ruth Little opened the Dockside Grill in August 2007. With the help of chef and family friend Josh Souza, the restaurant serves a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, seafood, pasta, beef, pork, lamb and chicken entrees.
Lunch is available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and dinner from 4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.
“It’s a little off the beaten path but it’s like a ‘stay-cation,’” Steve Little said. “It’s only 10 minutes from town but you feel like you’ve gotten away.”
The new Pelican Room features a 16-foot walk-up bar made from a slab of American elm from Marysville,
Calif. Five micro-beers are on tap not to mention a wide variety of beers in bottles, a martini list and an extensive collection of wine.
In the Pelican Room only, guests can try three two-ounce pours of wine by the glass and the appetizer of their choice for only $25.
“This gives customers a chance to try new wines without buying the whole bottle and to pair the wines with the food of their choice,” Steve Little said.
For now, the Pelican Room is open for dinner only from 4-9 p.m. This will change during the summer months.
With a full menu and views of the marina, Sequim Bay and Miller Peninsula, the Pelican Room offers the same great food, relaxing ambiance and natural look as the main portion of the restaurant, Steve Little said.
Unlike the rest of the restaurant, the Pelican Room is air conditioned and expected to be very popular for that reason in the summer, Ruth Little added.
For the first time, the Dockside Grill will remain open for Christmas Eve.
Guests should put in their reservations for Christmas and New Year’s Eve now, Steve Little encouraged.
Home at the marina
The John Wayne Marina is a popular harbor for boaters exploring the protected waters of Puget Sound or crossing the shimmering Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Featured in SEA magazine as “Best of the West,” the marina was built in 1985 on 22 acres of land donated by the John Wayne family. Wayne frequented Sequim Bay aboard the family yacht the Wild Goose and prior to his death envisioned a marina in the scenic bay. Eventually that vision became reality under the ownership and auspices of the Port of Port Angeles.
In addition to the Dockside Grill, the marina features port offices, permanent and guest moorage, marine services, showers and laundry facilities, a banquet room, fuel and maintenance services. It
has boat launch ramps, public beach access and picnic areas.
Bird watching is popular at the marina. Frequent sightings include the common loon, greater white-fronted goose, brant, harlequin duck, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, black-bellied and American golden-plover, marbled murrelet, rhinoceros auklet and tufted puffin.
“The Dockside Grill is proud to be a part of this historic and scenic area,” Steve Little said.
