Here's the Latest on Mission on the Bay

Photo: A rendering of Mission on the Bay from the restaurant’s Facebook page.

You’ve watched the construction progress at 141 Humphrey St., for months now and you’ve heard all about Mission on the Bay, and now you’re just wondering when you’ll be able to eat at this restaurant you’ve heard so much about.

Well, principal owner Marty Bloom doesn’t have an exact answer, but he’s just as anxious to get Mission on the Bay up and running as you are.

“The weather this winter killed us; it put us about three months behind,” Bloom said, explaining that plans to open in July had to be scrapped after the brutal winter put an icy damper of construction progress. “We don’t know what day or week or hour, but we’re pushing to get it open this summer.”

Bloom said major steps have been accomplished toward opening the restaurant, which will feature a rooftop deck, two levels of dining, a couple of large bars, and a walk-up takeout or snack bar for beach strolling passersby. Among those steps, all the major items for the restaurant have been ordered and major work on the plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems has been completed.

“The guts of the building are in order,” Bloom explained. “We can’t finish anything off until we get the windows in and the roof on.”

Bloom said he expects the roof to go on this week and for the building to be sealed up very soon. Once that happens, serious work can begin on the interior.

For now, he’s on the hunt for a chef.

“Good chefs are hard to come by,” Bloom said. “We know exactly what we’re looking for becayse it’s such a big restaurant with lots of facets. Running these kinds of restaurants requires someone who is not just great at the food piece, but a good organizer.

“It’s going to be a preeminent restaurant and we want to find someone who can really work with us.”

He’s also been in talks with the historical commission to resolve some lingering concerns related to the space in front of the restaurant, which Bloom said will be “a lot prettier and a lot nicer” when the developers are finished with it.

Bloom said that within about six to eight weeks, he hopes to begin accepting applications for the many people he’ll need to run Mission on the Bay.

“There’s a lot of facets to this place, and it’s going to require a lot of human beings to run it right,” he explained.

You can check out more about Mission on the Bay on the restaurant’s Facebook page.