Waterway Cafe to sell chairs, plates, mixers and more at auction to make room for makeover

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Want to own a piece of Palm Beach Gardens restaurant history?

You can grab a little bit of the iconic Waterway Cafe to take home with you on Saturday, as nearly everything inside the building is auctioned to make way for a major renovation.

The restaurant closed Aug. 20 for work to begin on the project, which will include major interior and exterior changes to the restaurant that opened 37 years ago.

The restaurant at 2300 PGA Blvd. will be closed for six to nine months, owner Marc Mariacher, who bought the Waterway Cafe in June 2020, previously told The Palm Beach Post.

Because of the extensive renovation that is planned, all of the contents of the restaurant must go, said Larry Toto with Best Buy Auctioneers, the company running Saturday’s auction.

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Even Waterway Cafe's outdoor chandeliers are for sale

Doors open at 10 a.m. with bidding beginning at noon, Toto said. Prebidding is open now and bids may be made in person or online via the listing on www.bestbuyauctioneers.com.

Among the items you can expect to see for sale: “All the tables, all the chairs, all the equipment that’s used to service people,” Toto said.

That includes plates, serving utensils, silverware, tray stands and high chairs.

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Some decor items will be included — but not the 100-year-old row boats from the University of Pennsylvania that hang from the ceiling. Most of the artwork on the walls, lighting fixtures, tabletop lights and more will be fair game.

That includes the unusual chandeliers that hang in the outdoor seating area — the ones that resemble a fan of palm fronds that curl up to hold electric candles.

All of the kitchen equipment is being sold as well — stoves, tables, dishwashers and commercial mixers.

“Everything down to the floor mats and the salt and pepper shakers,” Toto said.

There are pots, pans and glassware, including brand new glassware that was still in boxes in a storage room, he said. Blenders and small refrigerators behind the bar will be on the list.

Toto, a Staten Island, New York, native, has lived in Palm Beach Gardens for about eight years and dined at Waterway Cafe. His favorite dishes have been the chicken Milanese and the teriyaki pork chop.

Best Buy Auctioneers has handled sales for more than 500 restaurants, Toto said. In that time, he has seen restaurants like the Waterway Cafe draw plenty of people from the general public who are curious and want to own a token from one of their favorite places to dine.

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Prices will range from less than $1 for things like plates and silverware to $500 or more for larger fixtures and appliances, Toto said.

“Everything must be sold,” he said. “Come back here on Tuesday and it’ll be an empty building.”

Another restaurant auction, this one in Jupiter, is Monday

While Waterway Cafe may draw more curious onlookers, another auction being led by Toto’s team begins at noon Monday just up the road.

The contents of the former Cabo Flats Mexican restaurant at 1352 U.S. 1 in Jupiter have to go, Toto said. The building was sold in July, property records show, and according to the list on the Best Buy Auctioneers website, the building is set to be demolished.

Items there include some of the distinctive artwork for which Cabo Flats was known, including large paintings of Mexican-style calaveras, or skulls. Booths, chairs, tables, TVs, sound system equipment, pans, high chairs, booster seats, kitchen scales, fire extinguishers and a firepit are on the list of lots that will go to auction.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Auction set for Saturday at Waterway Cafe in Palm Beach Gardens