Former grill, nearby marina up for sale

West End story: Will the Waterman Seafood Grill ever return, some readers want to know. The once popular eatery, 14302 Stewart Road, on the island’s West End, has been closed since Hurricane Ike.

Now, it’s up for sale by Stonehenge Real Estate Investment Co. When Stonehenge purchased the restaurant from Diane Duzich in the spring of 2008, it intended to keep an upscale restaurant going to complement a proposed 35-unit Lafitte’s Harbor Condominium/Marina on Lake Como facing Galveston Bay.

Predevelopment sales of the condominiums were brisk at the time. But the project never was realized.

Along with the restaurant space, Stonehenge is selling all the regulatory permits it was granted for a 127-slip marina and boat store. Tom Johnson, of Houston-based McDade, Smith, Gould and Johnston, is representing the sellers.

Want to talk about it? Visit Buzz Blog at galvnews.com.

Pizza pie in the sky? Sightings of popular pizza purveyor Dan Stackpoole in the island’s downtown last week have generated buzz. Stackpoole and wife Jamie own the popular Dan Good Pizza chain in the Detroit market. Was he scoping for island sites? Probably not, say sources who spoke with him. Stackpoole was just visiting and likely is looking to open an eatery in the Houston area and not on the island, those sources say.

Stackpoole couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Monday. Stay tuned.

Burritology: If breakfast burritos were a degree, it’s safe to say most Texans would be doctoral candidates. Martin J. Garza, who calls himself a burritologist, along with a business partner, in August bought League City’s Bronco Breakfast Burritos, 176 Interstate 45. But signs with the new name Juan Big Burrito only recently have gone up, causing a buzz among breakfast crowds.

Hondo Medellin opened Bronco Breakfast Burritos in 2006. New owners promise to continue serving breakfast fare with the same homemade taste, including the tortillas and salsa.

Also, look for Juan Big Burrito, (FM 518 and I-45 next to Kroger), to improve drive-through service, launch a Web site and offer new promotions.

“We really see this as a serving opportunity,” Garza said.

Cleared for takeoff: Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts. The island’s Scholes International Airport is soon to get a bona fide restaurant.

City officials have cleared for takeoff the construction of a two-story restaurant north of the terminal building at the airport, 2400 Terminal Drive, on the West End.

Dr. Edward Zompa, who, with partners, owns West Isle Urgent Care, 2027 61st St., on the island, plans to open the eatery by the summer’s end, airport Director Hud Hopkins said. Plans call for the restaurant to serve casual breakfast and lunch fare while offering more upscale seafood entrees for dinner. Stay tuned.

Mystery solved: Remember last week’s Buzz when some weekenders who enjoy their morning coffee while parked on East Beach wanted to know about all the construction equipment and a large fenced area near their favorite spot?

Initial inquiries with the city yielded few answers. It turns out it’s a Galveston Park Board project after all. Lou Muller, executive director of the park board, reports that the fenced-off area, east of Boddeker Drive, is a containment site for dredge material. The park board is dredging sand, then pumping it to the fenced off area until it dries and can be used for beach reconstruction from 25th to 21st streets and east of 14th Street along the seawall.

Mailbag: Meanwhile, a reader e-mailed to say: “There is something going up across from the school administration building in Santa Fe on (state) Highway 6. Looks like concrete slab is getting ready to be poured? Any ideas?”

Answer: All the activity is preparation for a new building for Dr. Miriam Page, a veterinarian with Loving Care Animal Clinic. Page plans to move her practice to the building, reports Benny Davis, the city’s building official.

Biz Buzz appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.