Noyo Harbor’s Wharf restaurant gets a new lease on life

FORT BRAGG, CA., 11/18/25 — The Beachcomber Hotel Group has officially become the fourth owner of the Wharf Restaurant after more than 70 years of the eatery’s operation — and the new owners say they have big plans ahead.

The Wharf, located in the heart of Noyo Harbor’s working waterfront with sweeping views of the river, ocean and Noyo Bridge, was purchased last month by siblings Robert “Bob” Hunt and Pamela Amante, along with the nearby Anchor Lodge across the parking lot. 

The Wharf itself occupies a multi-level building along the harbor. The main dining room offers panoramic views through large windows, while an upstairs patio provides outdoor seating. The bar area sits near the entrance and is currently separate from the main dining space, giving the restaurant a mix of intimate and open settings. Below the second-floor deck, a spacious area at parking lot level was used for outdoor dining during the pandemic, but is currently not in use. This layout gives the new owners room to reimagine how the restaurant functions.

The Wharf is the first restaurant in the siblings’ Fort Bragg-based hotel portfolio, which includes the Beachcomber Motel, Surf and Sand Lodge, Beach House Inn and Harbor Lite Lodge, which they purchased in 2021 from the same sellers who owned the Wharf.

Previous owner James C. “Jim” Hurst and brothers Silver and Juan Pablo Canul acquired the restaurant in 2005 from longtime owners Tom and Mary Wisdom, who had operated the Wharf for 27 years. The chain of ownership stretches back to the mid-1950s, when Jim Cummings opened a small coffee shop and charterboat operation on the site.

Hurst, a longtime Fort Bragg resident, originally moved to the area in 1977 with his wife Barbara to raise their children, Barbara is a third-generation Fort Bragg native, born at the Grey Whale Inn when it served as a hospital. The couple became involved in local hospitality, with Barbara managing and co-owning the Harbor Lite Lodge with her sister Judy. The Harbor Lite Lodge sits above the harbor by the Noyo Bridge, with views of the entire harbor scene, including the Wharf. 

Hurst, along with the Canuls, grew the business by millions of dollars in just a few years, but he said the restaurant never fully recovered from the pandemic. He said improvements needed to be made, and he wanted it to be a place that the community could continue to enjoy. But Hurst didn’t have the resources — and at age 84, he was ready to retire. 

Having previously sold the Harbor Lite Lodge to the Hunt family, Hurst said the Hunts were the perfect buyers to carry on the legacy of the historic establishment.

“I think it’s very important to recognize that the Beachcomber group is exactly the kind of buyer that we were looking for because they have a big business footprint here,” Hurst said. “The Wharf is an iconic spot, so it’s important to have another local person who’s invested in our community, and who is operating five motels here.”

Hunt moved to Fort Bragg in the 1970s at age 16 when his family traveled from Southern California to buy the Beachcomber Motel, located just south of town on the bluffs above Pudding Creek Beach. He watched his father and stepmother grow the business, and at age 29, he purchased the Beachcomber from his father. 

“He made it real clear to me that this was his retirement, and that he was not going to give me a deal on the motel at all, but he would help me with giving me time to rake up the down payment,” Hunt said.

Tragically, Hunt’s father passed just as the motel remodel was finished, never getting to see how far his son would take the family legacy. 

Hunt, who now lives out of state, has connections to the Wharf that span five decades, including friendships with each previous owner and decades as a longtime customer.

“I met Jim Cummings when I was 16,” Hunt said. “He had a gun collection up in the rafters of the restaurant and bar area, mostly in the bar, with Civil War and cowboy guns on display behind glass. I was blown away. I later heard that someone broke in and stole all the guns.”

He was also friends with Tom Wisdom, the second owner from whom Hurst purchased the business. With a lifetime of memories and ties to every previous owner, Hunt is committed to preserving the Wharf’s legacy while giving it new life.

Under the new ownership, the Wharf’s menu is getting a refresh while still honoring longtime favorites. Hunt said the goal is to “bring back a lot of the plates that people have loved over the years,” offering a mix of seafood, steaks and other classic dishes, with a clear separation of the different areas of the restaurant.

“When we bought it, I think they had a choice of one steak. I’m going to have four or five steaks, and you know, there is such a thing as a rack of lamb, a pork shank, a lamb shank. There’s so many things we can do,” Hunt said. 

As part of the Beachcomber Hotel Group, the Wharf will serve as a go-to dining option for hotel guests.

The new owners are also exploring ways to better utilize the restaurant’s spaces, including the area under the upper deck that’s not being used. 

“Hopefully we won’t have any issues getting that annexed into the legal area to serve, and we could have an outdoor bar area, and a designated seating area, and you’ll be sitting right there on the edge of the river. I think there are a lot of people who would love to have a burger and a beer outside on a nice day,” Hunt said.

John Glidewell, regional manager of operations for the hospitality group, said the goal is to make a community space that can accommodate everyone: hotel guests, casual diners, groups, wedding parties and more.

Glidewell added that the new ownership team plans to keep the current employees, while potentially adding new positions as business increases. 

 “One of the best parts about the business is that it’s just been taken care of by such great people, so we would love for them to stick around,” Glidewell said.

As Hunt looks toward the Wharf’s future, he also reflects on where his own journey began in Fort Bragg.

“If my dad was alive, he would be blown away that I ended up with the Wharf. He would be shocked by probably a lot of things that I’ve done,” Hunt said.