New Happenings at Barnacle Billy’s Restaurants

Every year ending leaves us with much to do at the restaurants. This year it seems so much more. And it really is.

From left to right: Sarah Cannon, Micah Tower, Tiffany Nelson (retired from Barnacle Billy’s after thirty years) and Eric Littlefield, who is still going strong over thirty years at Barnacle Billy’s.

Barnacle Billy’s, Etc.

My son, Micah Tower, and Sarah Cannon, both general managers of equal status at Etc., have been very proactive since they started working together. Sarah was the one who designed the new menus. They both have added items to the menu that have become very popular. There is so much more that they have done to make Etc. a better place, which I won’t mention here, that makes me very happy. Of course, this makes me that much more excited for the upcoming season. Suffice it to day, things are much more organized now.

One of the changes for the upcoming season will be in our business hours here at Etc. In the past, our opening day was always the first Thursday in May or the last Thursday in April. We opened at 5PM until the weekend and, then, at 11AM for Saturday and Sunday. During the week, opening was back to 5PM. This coming season we are simplifying things.

Our opening day will be on Friday, May 2, 2025 at 11AM. From that time on, we will be opening at 11AM, daily, until the day we close on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 8PM. We will be closing at 8PM every night.

New for July & August: Extended Hours! We will be open until 9PM nightly.

Physically, Etc. will have a new look in different areas. The wall to wall carpet is going to be replaced in the lounge area. We are also opening the space up a bit more and adding just a few more seats. And we are adding a couple of TVs to make your time there a little more interesting. We do many things to both restaurants every off-season that enhance our operation, most of which you would never notice and not worth mentioning here.

Barnacle Billy’s (Original)

The one major improvement that I am making at Barnacle Billy’s is the look and

function of the deck. We are replacing the wooden railing with a custom stainless railing designed by Michael Dumas. He is the artist who designed and built the railing we have around the garden patio at Barnacle Billy’s, Etc. The welding is beautiful in that railing. Along with the new railing, we are re-planking the deck. The old wood needs to be changed out and the support underneath needs to be reinforced to complete the finished platform. This will make it easier to walk on and give us the stability that we need for years to come.

I’m excited about the railing because it will be designed with horizontal 316 stainless tubing which will allow one to see more of the view of The Cove, eliminating the wide block of wood that sets right at eye level while sitting at a table. And as my sister, Cathy, notes, it will match the railing next door. Like Etc., there are many other improvements that are made every year that are not worth mentioning here that you would never see but, which, help move forward every year.

In General...

The season always ends too soon for me. When asked if I am looking forward to the off-season, I reply with a, “Not really” response. I am never ready for the end of the season. I do enjoy it. The main reason I enjoy it so much is because of the support I get from my siblings and from my employees here. Patrons always ask how we find such good people. This I don’t really know. Except that I have always felt that good people attract good people. We do have a lot of good people who run the show behind me and behind the scenes, most of whom I would be lost without. So, no, I don’t like to see the season end.

But we couldn’t go any further; the weather is not conducive to continuing on. It would be hard to keep fresh product on hand with the business variability when the week days are so unpredictable and slow, in general. But the time away from the day to day restaurant business also drives the good feeling I will have to be open again. I really look forward to it. Although I appreciate being open, I also appreciate the practicality of closing when we do.

So, as my father, Billy, would have said; “Winter well!” I am very much looking forward to seeing you all next season.