Hog Snappers restaurant in Tequesta adding Stuart site

STUART As they begin restoring two old buildings at a prominent downtown spot along U.S. 1, Jeff and Christine Hardin have persuaded the owners of a popular Tequesta dining spot to open their second restaurant there.

Hog Snappers, which opened in August 2009 at 279 S. U.S. 1 in the Palm Beach County part of Tequesta, has signed a 10-year lease for the former Bubbas Fish Camp site at 421 S. U.S. 1 in Stuart that has been vacant for more than a decade.

The Hardins company, Straticon Construction Services, specializes in restoration work. They paid $590,000 in February for the 1.34-acre site in Stuart that holds the 64-year-old restaurant property and the 86-year-old building that had been a hotel in its previous lives.

Jeff Hardin said as soon as the city of Stuart grants the permits, he will begin the $400,000 renovation project to build out Hog Snappers to the Rivaldos specifications.

How the two got together is a tale of fate.

After the Hardins bought the property, they looked for a suitable restaurant to fill the space.

Friends told them about Hog Snappers, he said, so they tried it.

We liked the restaurant so much we went and recruited them, Jeff Hardin said.

Hog Snappers owners Arthur and Melanie Rivaldo said the renovated building in Stuart will have the identical menu and seating capacity as their Tequesta restaurant.

But about 60 percent of the 74 seats in Stuart will be under cover outdoors. The Hog Snappers in Tequesta has no outdoor seating.

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Hog Snappers restaurant in Tequesta adding Stuart site