Unless you’ve heard of it through word of mouth, come upon it during a boat outing in Jamaica Bay or discovered it through social media, you would never expect to find a waterside restaurant and bar with quality food and breathtaking views hidden behind a gas station. The Wharf Bar and Grill is a hidden gem that has served locals for decades.
There are no flashy billboards indicating “The Wharf is here” along the bayside of Beach 116th Street and Beach Channel Drive. Yet The Wharf hasn’t been a secret to locals and now those coming down for the day have started to uncover one of the peninsula’s best kept secrets.
Ever since Bill and Mavis Bulloch originally opened The Wharf as a bait shack and private club, the property has maintained a sense of exclusivity. “Bill Bulloch wanted to pick and choose his customers and that’s just what he did. There were no signs, no advertising. If you were welcome one evening, you could come back the next day and not be allowed in,” current co-owner Bobby Leckie recalled.
When Leckie and Jimmy Bulloch became co-owners in 1979, they opened The Wharf to the public, but still managed to keep it somewhat secret. “I chose not to advertise or put signs out because I wanted to keep the idea of it being a hidden gem in people’s minds,” Leckie said. However through a quick Google search of places to eat around busy Beach 116th street, the secret of The Wharf is out.
Over recent years, visitors to the peninsula have started to discover the Wharf as one of the perfect places to end a beach day while watching the sunset along the city skyline. “I don’t think people in general come to the Rockaways for the cuisine, but here, I think they come for the waterside and the beautiful views of the city,” Leckie said.
Leckie also takes pride in the food that the Wharf serves. “This is not a local fast food place where you drive in and out in 10 minutes. It takes time to cook fresh items,” he said. Being by the water, some of the house favorites include seafood items like broiled scallops, but Leckie says some of the most popular items are the marinated steak platter and the fish tacos, which he says were on the menu years before other places found acclaim serving them.
The restaurant has been home to some locals for many decades. Some staff members, like the cooks, have been working there for more than 30 years. Staff member Joanne has been there 23 years and daytime manager Maureen Lynch has been there for 17 years. Many locals got their first taste of the workforce at The Wharf. The owners have a longstanding tradition of hiring young locals to work as busboys and busgirls. “We’ve helped family, friends and anybody I’ve met along the way who want to put their kids to work,” Leckie said.
Leckie says The Wharf has seen more than 100 bartenders behind the bar in his 36 years as co-owner. Including the kitchen staff, bartenders, barbacks, waitresses, managers and busboys, the restaurant has about 50 current employees, each of which are treated like family.
The bayside building took a beating during Sandy, but Leckie and Bulloch had it open just four weeks after, so residents had somewhere to go and so staff members could continue to support their families. “I can proudly say, nobody missed a paycheck here,” Leckie said. With insurance and FEMA help lacking, staff members returned the favor by chipping in to help renovate the restaurant.
For many generations, The Wharf has been a place to create memories. “We’ve had proposals here, weddings here, 50th anniversaries here, birthday parties for God knows how many people,” Leckie says. With more people discovering The Wharf, more memories are sure to me made for whoever stops by. “There was a time when I didn’t understand Bill Bulloch’s approach to business, but I understand it now. I only wish I could pick and choose my customers, but that’s not the case nowadays. But, the more people, the better business should be,” Leckie said.
The Wharf is located at 416 Beach 116 Street and is open seven days a week starting at 9 a.m. Some locals whisper the Sunday brunch can’t be beat. The kitchen is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on the weekend. Make sure to hit the ATM before sitting down, as it is cash only.
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