Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/15710
LONGBEACHMAGAZINE.COM 41 cook will be added downstairs to alleviate the surge in business due to the happy hour menu being moved from upstairs to downstairs. Parkers' menu might downsize slightly in order to provide customers with quality over quantity, Cole noted, but he believes a trip he and Stein are embarking on to Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia will provide the restaurant with new menu ideas from the seafood-friendly portion of our continent. Stein is interested in tasting mushroom varieties, oysters and finfish that are seldom used in California to possibly incorporate them into his menu, but said he is certain that the care and attention to details that go into his food will remain. "We're still going to stick with fresh chef's specials," Stein said. "I like to utilize local and fresh and to support swordfish from Catalina and farmers from Oxnard when it comes to produce. The menu is constantly evolving and there are always new things put on based upon the season because we're season driven." "We want everybody to know that we are still about fish and chips and fresh seafood," Cole added. "That's who we are. We're not changing." Given our current economy, some might wonder why a restaurant would undertake a $2.5 million renovation, but the plan to give Parkers' a facelift has been in the works since 2007. Regardless of our nation's financial situation, Cole said, Parkers' Lighthouse owners Select Restaurants want to keep their business ahead of the restaurant curve, which means moving forward with the renovation. Fortunately, Parkers' and Cole – who has been in his position since 1997 – went through a remodel in 1998 and know what it takes to keep the restaurant open during construction. When it's all said and done, Cole hopes the new Parkers' Lighthouse will be finished by January 2011 and that the changes will set aside the restaurant from some of its neighboring competitors. "Everybody has done their thing in the harbor," Cole said. "All these new restaurants have opened and when they had their grand openings, we just sat back. We've been here longer than everybody else and now it's our turn to make a big splash." n Photos courtesy of Parker's Lighthouse "We are modernizing ourselves. We need to change. We're so white inside now and we want to warm things up." — Michael Cole BEFORE