Harry Mangini again owns the Sandollar Restaurant.
Mangini and former General Manager Ryan McGee bought the business and took over as proprietors July 8. Mangini closed the restaurant July 6 and 7 to install a new kitchen floor, and to clean and refresh the restaurant’s exterior.
Mangini declined to reveal the cost of acquiring the business or of planned renovations. Property records show Ash-Leah Enterprises Inc. owns the property, which Mangini said carries an asking price of more than $3 million. He said he isn’t prepared to invest in purchasing the property at this time.
The restaurant at 9716 Heckscher Drive, next to the St. Johns River Ferry, opened in 1954 as a fish camp. The current structure was built in 1989. It has twice been damaged by fire.
Mangini had been working at the restaurant when it became available in 1999, and he owned it until 2010, when a stroke forced him to sell. He returned in 2020 as chef and general manager.
“I’m from New Jersey, and I’ve always wanted a waterfront restaurant,” he said during a June 8 interview.“Up there, you have to be a multibillionaire to do that. When the opportunity came along, I jumped on it.”
The interior seats 179, and a deck that overlooks the St. Johns River has seating for 150. It is a place where regulars drop by, have a beer or a late lunch or just gather to share gossip. During the interview, one came over to ask if Mangini was going to bring back the buffet.
“It’s on the list,” he said.
The Sandollar Restaurant primarily serves seafood along with a couple of steak options and chicken as an entree and in some pasta and salad dishes.
Fish is served grilled, blackened or fried. Entrees feature grouper, tuna, salmon, shrimp, flounder and mahi from $21 to $26. Combination platters include fried shrimp, scallops, clam strips, local fish, deviled crab and hush puppies with a choice of sides.
A single platter is $37 and a platter for two is $70.
Mangini prepares a rotation of specials depending on the season and ingredient availability, including a Thursday all-you-can-eat crab leg special priced at $14 for the first pound and $8 for each additional pound.
The restaurant has 50 employees and a full bar. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Further renovations will continue over the coming months, Mangini said.
He is also trying to find a solution for another problem.
“The seagulls. They’ll swoop down and take the hamburger right out of your hands.”