Thirsty Turtle Seagrill a seafood oasis in West Palm Beach

Sal Zambito doesn’t want anybody telling him why his new sports activities bar, the Thirsty Turtle Seagrill, fills a gaping restaurant void within the sawgrass-tipped marshlands of west Palm Seaside County.

Zambito lives throughout the road. He is aware of.

Nonetheless, avid prospects have been keen to point out him: “They have been like, ‘When do you open?! When do you open?!’ and nearly ripping the entrance doorways off the hinges,” he says, within the months earlier than the Thirsty Turtle’s grand opening on Aug. 31.

The Thirsty Turtle, at 10130 Northlake Blvd., West Palm Seaside, occupies a tiny plaza manner out close to unincorporated Loxahatchee and The Acreage and the manicured new city of Westlake, previous the 24-square-mile wetlands of the Grassy Waters Protect, which provide the county’s ingesting water.

There’s a Publix grocery store and one Chinese language takeout eatery close by, and so is a Dunkin’, however the overwhelming majority of diners should trek about 6 miles east to North Army Path to seek out the closest cluster of eating places, Zambito says.

“There’s been no good meals in our neighborhood,” Zambito says. “There’s nothing west however sawgrass. Like 75 % of our prospects come from The Acreage and Loxahatchee.”

Which makes his 3,000-square-foot sports activities grill a seafood oasis in a restaurant desert. The menu options Firecracker Shrimp Tacos, Steamed Littleneck Clams and contemporary fish comparable to blackened dolphin, together with burgers, salads, skirt steaks and child again ribs. Eleven flat-screen TV units play reside sports activities over the eating room, adorned with wood-paneled partitions and an extended counter bar with buoys, anchors and fish motifs mounted overhead. (“We wished it to not appear like SpongeBob [SquarePants], however with pleasing nautical themes,” Zambito says.)

Quick-talking and affable, the Brooklyn-accented proprietor give up his job as a banker to open the Thirsty Turtle with business partner Michael Newman. They franchised the grill from Karen and Joe Paranzino, who function 4 different Thirsty Turtles in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce and the flagship in Juno Seaside.

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“I at all times made the joke as a banker: I wish to make 1,000,000 {dollars} so I may lose all of it as a restaurant proprietor,” he says. “However it was all these folks banging on the home windows and screaming about how a lot the grill was wanted right here, that’s why I busted my butt to open.”

What excites Zambito extra is the world’s development potential. He factors to an “explosion of housing” in close by Avenir, a sprawling neighborhood now in its building infancy, set so as to add 3,900 single-family houses on wetlands thick with wooden storks, pink roseate spoonbills and nice blue herons.

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Already, he says, 10 to fifteen prospects queue up day by day exterior the 150-seat Thirsty Turtle earlier than it opens for lunch — and dinner is way extra hectic with hourlong wait instances. This weekend, the restaurant will start accepting takeout orders, which he had skipped till now to keep away from overwhelming the kitchen.

Zambito takes zero credit score for the seagrill’s menu, which is similar to its sister areas. Chef Rafael Reyes-Guzman, who labored on the Thirsty Turtle’s Juno Seaside outpost for a decade, created the honey-garlic sauce recipe for the favored rooster wings ($15.95 for 10; $31.50 for 20) and its desserts ($4.95-$6.50), such because the Coca-Cola Cake and the Turtle Egg (caramel surrounded by peanut butter gelato coated in milk chocolate).

The Thirsty Turtle sources its fish from 18 Florida suppliers. Fish & Chips ($15.95) are sometimes haddock (typically cod), and the menu additionally contains pasta ($12.95-$19.95) and handhelds ($6.95-$11.95) comparable to Philly Cheese Steak and Scorching Corned Beef.

Completely satisfied hours are from 2 to 7 p.m. day by day, when a dozen steamed clams value $6 (usually $8.95), and drafts, bottles and properly drinks get a 10-percent- to 20-percent-off low cost. Dwell music acts are anticipated to comply with later this fall.

Thirsty Turtle Seagrill is at 10130 Northlake Blvd., West Palm Seaside. Name 561-660-8911 or go to ThirstyTurtleFL.com/West-Palm-Beach.