Changes coming to marina at Lake Sara

Mar. 9—Larson's Landing, a marina with boat slips, event space and Pinky's restaurant will see some changes this summer.

Brian Larson, the marina's owner and operator, is in the process of subletting portions of the marina out to other people and groups. The first of these is a new bar underneath the deck of Pinky's restaurant. Jason Gines, the owner and operator of Gabby Goat American Pub & Grill, has already been selected as the potential new operator.

Because of the nature of land use at Lake Sara, Larson brought the matter to the Effingham Water Authority Board for discussion on Monday, since it owns the land and leases it to Larson.

"I'm pretty excited about looking at this opportunity," Gines said at this week's Effingham Water Authority Board meeting, where he briefly pitched the new bar. "I talked to my wife and we were interested in adding a little flair to the boat dock there and adding a little extra excitement when you're getting gas."

The new bar will be in the former bait house at Larson's Landing, where boat owners currently go to buy gas on that part of the lake. Gines will be taking over the space and will be responsible for selling gas.

"The bait house is basically empty," he added.

What once was a busy spot to buy bait and fishing supplies has dwindled in the past few decades as people buy their supplies online and at larger stores like Walmart.

"Times have changed," he said.

The exact hours for the space are yet to be determined.

"I'm going to look at the hours and where it's profitable and where it's needed more importantly. My wife's going down to part time at the hospital. She's planning on being the main source out there and I mean we're gonna take ownership in it," Gines said at the EWA meeting.

Aside from renovating the interior of the bait house, Larson says the only other changes to the building will be a new walk-in cooler on the patio and the removal of the "Larson's Landing" sign from the building.

Larson said he will also fill in some of the boat slips on the marina's 300-foot dock in order to provide more patio space, which he said was in short supply last summer as people wanted to spread out and socially distance.

The bar is expected to be open this summer.

The other proposed change is that Poss Music Works, which puts on Moccasin Creek and Summer Sundown music festivals, will be leasing the wooded stage area that has been home to his festivals for several years.

"We've been putting on shows on that stage for the past seven years," said Bill Passalacqua, the group's head. This new arrangement will allow Poss Music Works to change its programming. "We'll be able to present shows throughout the year."

Passalacqua has been organizing events since before he founded Poss Music Works, which is a nonprofit organization aimed to bring music and culture to downstate Illinois.

"We're very excited about the opportunity," he said.

The arrangement will require approval from the board of Poss Music Works.

For Passalacqua's events in the past, Larson handled the concessions and much of the facility maintenance, which will now be the responsibility of Poss Music Works.

In addition to the new leasing arrangements, Larson says this summer will be a chance to catch up on some projects at the marina. These include cleaning out two outbuildings he has used for storage and a shop, which he hopes to lease in the future.

Larson also is planning on repairing the boat launch, which has a hole from years of propellers bumping up against the dirt at the bottom of the ramp.

The marina has changed hands several times over the years, with Larson taking over in 2007 with then-partner Danny Hankins. Larson took over full control a short time after and in 2013 put the marina up for auction, though no one was interested at that time.

Larson built Pinky's and opened it for the summer of 2016. He operated it for two years before leasing it to Kevin and Carrie Schultz, who currently run the restaurant.

This summer will also bring a new park to Lake Sara, with the Pearson Peninsula Park and Effingham Beach at Lake Sara being developed this spring.

The project has been in the works for several years and at the most recent EWA meeting the chief organizer of the project, Tom Ryan, said he has set a "hard date" deadline of June 30 for completion.

The EWA board approved several bids for the project and gave Ryan the go-ahead to buy just over $6,000 worth of fiberglass figurines to give the park-goers a sense of "surprise and delight." He is working to design modular bases to facilitate swapping out the figurines, which include things like pirates and woodland animals.

"Part of the fun of going to the park would be seeing what's new, what's different," Ryan said.

can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or andrew.adams@effinghamdailynews.com