SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. — A popular waterfront restaurant on the North Shore was forced to evacuate and is now closed until further notice after a seawall underneath it partially collapsed.
One of the owners of Mission on the Bay told Boston 25 News about 60 people were eating lunch inside when it happened around 1:45 p.m.
Swampscott’s Department of Public Works believes the collapse was likely caused by erosion.
The town’s building inspector determined that the restaurant must remain closed until the partially collapsed seawall is repaired.
“It looks worse than it is,” said co-owner Marty Bloom. “It’s all structurally 100 percent sound.”
Bloom told Boston 25 News that the restaurant was built with the old seawall in mind.
He said the way it was constructed doesn’t put any weight on the seawall that partially collapsed.
“We have pilings 30 feet below the restaurant. There’s a big beam that runs through the middle of it,” he explained. “I suspect we’re going to be building something temporarily underneath that part of the building.”
Crews hosed the compromised seawall with cement to add temporary support to it as things get sorted out.
“As somebody who could do this job, I think that property is going to get torn down,” said Swampscott native Dan Dandreo. “That wall is not stable. That property is going to get condemned.”
Bloom is hoping that the impact won’t be longer than a couple of days.
He will be meeting on Friday with the city inspector, the town manager, and the contractors who built the restaurant to figure out a plan moving forward.
“It’s going to have to be temporary. There’s no way we’ll get a permanent fix that quick,” added Bloom. “I just don’t know what everybody is going to rule.”
The owners have two other restaurants on the North Shore - the Mission Boat House in Beverly and the Beach House in Revere.
They’re giving people the option of transferring their reservations to those establishments for the time being.
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