Harbour Bar to Open in El Tesoro Space

Well known restaurateurs have big plans for the old El Tesoro Cantina space in downtown Decatur.

Ryan Aiken, Sean Keenan and Chris Blanchard, owners of Napoleon's Grill in Decatur's Oak Grove neighborhood, will open the Harbour Bar at 129 Church St., this summer.

Aiken calls it a seafood concept akin to Six Feet Under in Grant Park. 

"It will be a 'staycation' type of seafood restaurant," Aiken said in an interview. "We want to make you feel like you're somewhere else and have the relaxed feeling of going away on vacation."

Plans call for renovating the old white bungalow inside and out. Aiken said it will look different than the old El Tesoro, which closed last January after several years. 

The renovation will include knocking down walls, moving restrooms, and extending the bar from where it is now to make way for a raw seafood bar.

Menu items will include steamer baskets, lobster, sauteed clam cakes, and hot shots, which are oysters with tequila key lime butter.

“There’s a big need for a seafood and raw oyster bar type place,” Aiken said.

Aiken, a chef and Decatur native, was creator of Burrito Art, Saba and Misto. Partner Keenan is most known for creating the Front Page News and Tijuana Garage, where Blanchard spent many years as part of the management team.

Aiken also was once executive chef of the Indigo Coastal Grill in Virginia Highland, a popular restaurant decades ago.  He plans to be the chef in the kitchen at Harbour Bar.

He said, “I’ll the be the one in the water, pardon the pun."