Changing of the guard: Longtime owner sells Scituate's Mill Wharf restaurant

SCITUATE – After nearly 40 years, Bob Warner said he feels the time has come to move on from the Mill Wharf Restaurant on Scituate Harbor.

“This was a family decision,” he said. “I reached the benchmark of turning 70 last year, and realized that there are things I want to do while I’m still healthy.”

Originally from Worcester, Warner and his siblings – older brother, Steve; younger brother, Rich; and sister, Ann Marie – “discovered” Scituate after Steve opened a nursing home on the Driftway in the 1970s.

The family eventually got away from the nursing home business when Steve bought the Welch Company Lumber Yard, the area where the Mill Wharf now stands, in 1981. The property also included a hardware store, a gift shop, a marina and a movie theater.

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“We decided to make multiple changes to the property, including the condos, retail, the restaurant, and the expansion and development of the marina," Bob Warner said.

The restaurant opened Aug.1, 1984.

“It was perfect for this location,” Warner said.

A graduate of the business school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Warner worked at several restaurants on Cape Cod and in the Amherst area before going to work at The Mill Wharf when it opened. He has been there ever since, and Rich handles all the accounting for the restaurant.

“We’re hands on,” Bob Warner said. “People see us, and they know us.”

Scituate harbor mainstay

Keeping every aspect of the business local is important, Warner has said. The restaurant makes every effort to offer farm to table items, buys locally as often as possible and has always hired locally.

He takes pride in his staff, which can reach up to over 100 employees during high season.

“I have probably half a dozen employees who have been here longer than 25 years,” he said. “That’s family.”

Warner became a local himself, and lives just across the town line in Marshfield with his wife, Caroline, a “Scituate girl” he met through the restaurant. Caroline owns and operates the Welch Company Gift shop across the parking lot from the restaurant.

A spectacular view

Locals and visitors alike come to The Mill Wharf to enjoy the atmosphere, the menu and, without question, the spectacular view.

“I think this harbor is the prettiest on the East Coast,” Warner said. “Of course, I may be biased. There aren’t many places where you can go from Boston to the Cape where you can still sit outside and eat overlooking the water. On a sunny day, you can see clear across the harbor to the lighthouse. People come here for the first time and are just amazed by the view.”

Passing the baton

The family wasn’t pursuing a buyer for the restaurant, Warner said.

“It kind of just came to us. We’ve had people come to us over the years, but nothing ever materialized until this recent buyer," he said.

The new owners, father-son team Doug Traina and Dan Groom-Traina from Florida, are experienced in the marina and restaurant business, Warner said.

“Their main restaurant in Naples is called The Dock. It’s a little smaller than The Mill Wharf, but busier volume wise," Warner said. "They also have two restaurants at their marinas in Georgia. As a company, they started in the marina business and sort of backed into the restaurant business.”

The Mill Wharf will be the family’s fifth waterfront restaurant.

“It’s a good fit,” Warner said. “One thing I really like about this company is that when they bought the restaurant in Naples they kept the name, the menu and the employees.”

Warner will remain involved with The Mill Wharf during the transition. The other Warner family businesses in the area will keep him busy, he said, and “in town.”

And while he “knows it’s time to move on,” Warner said it won’t be easy to walk away.

“Scituate is a great town, and I really like the people here. This can be a hard business, but it can also be incredibly rewarding," he said. "I always looked forward to coming to work. I would like to thank the thousands of employees and customers who have made The Mill Wharf what it is today.”

Follow Ruth Thompson on Twitter @scituateruth

This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Famous Scituate restaurant The Mill Wharf to change ownership