Business Spotlight | Estuary Marks First Anniversary of raising the bar in downtown New Port Richey

March 1, 2024

By Michele Miller
What’s New Port Richey

It was mid-November 2022 and James Renew was standing in the middle of his soon-to-open restaurant with a loose-leaf folder in hand. Workers were milling about, a team of them installing soundproofing ceiling tiles above the dining tables and the booths that were still wrapped in protective plastic. Renew was describing what the finished bar was going to look like and wondering about the placement of the flat-screen TV. He was eager to get on with things after what was an intricate build-out in an old building and was a little concerned about whether the planned cuisine and the accompanying higher price point would appeal to New Port Richey’s pallet.

And he was mulling over a mid-February soft opening. After Valentine’s Day, of course. Because that would be insane.

Three months later Estuary opened the day after Valentine’s, on February 15, 2023.

Fast forward to a recent Tuesday afternoon two weeks after Estuary’s first anniversary. It’s a couple of hours before opening. The tables are set. The kitchen crew is prepping for the dinner crowd. Renew, dressed in executive chef garb, is keeping an eye on a timer for the caramel he’s got cooking in the kitchen while standing at his finished bar.

“It’s been a year of ups and downs,” he said as bartender, Madison Allen took a minute to whip up a couple of colorful, specialty cocktails that are getting some traction these days – the Kosmonaut featuring a house-made chai liquor and a clever little cocktail with a clarified buffalo trace and floating wine called the Stained Glass.

Madison Allen prepares one of Estuary’s signature cocktails – the Kosmonaut. Photo | Michele Miller

“The kosmonaut is super popular,” she said, angling the glass for a better view.

And the food doesn’t disappoint.

The menu at Estuary changes regularly, often featuring what’s in season whether it be the market fish or complimenting fruits and vegetables he uses in his recipes. Renew is selective in what he serves and makes it a point to source locally when feasible, procuring bread, for instance, from Leah Strydom of Suncoast Sourdough and produce from Tanner Kauffman of Theo’s Harvest, who are both popular vendors at local markets.

While there are some staples, what you order during one visit might not be on the menu the next time, or it could be prepared differently. That is a definite boon for adventurous diners.

I’m no food critic but I can attest that the crab beignets, roasted oysters and the cauliflower starters are to die for. I heartily recommend the redfish with shrimp dirty rice as an entree and truly appreciate the taste and the presentation of the signature Walnut Old Fashioned poured over a large ice cube that Renew orders special because that’s just the way it should be done.

Hubby was duly impressed with the pork coppa white bean cassoulet as well as the banana pie that we split for dessert. Dining companions have raved about the Faroe Island Salmon and the bouillabaisse.

And those soundproofing tiles? They really do lend to a better dining experience in a time when trendy vaulted ceilings and the surrounding din make it difficult to carry on a conversation.

You can take it from me. Or you can read the predominantly 5-star ratings Estuary gets on Yelp – some complete with photos and mouthwatering descriptions.

Or you can take a gander at a recent and very favorable review by Tampa Bay Times food writer, Helen Freund (This restaurant in New Port Richey is serving up seriously good food, Tampa Bay Times, Suncoast News, February 2024

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How It Came to Be

Renew went into this venture drawing on the success of a gastropub in Clearwater called The Little Lamb that he owns with his wife Christie, as well as a ladder-climbing career working in various facets of the restaurant business.

He started as a dishwasher at Straub’s Seafood Restaurant in Altamonte Springs. Honed his skills while working as a sous chef, kitchen manager, executive chef, and corporate trainer while making his way up the ranks in corporate hospitality entities.

He traveled some. Served as the executive chef opening new restaurants at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and the Star Casino in Sidney, Australia. When he came back to Florida he oversaw the club-level catering and concessions for the relaunch of Bucs Stadium in 2014.

Then he followed a dream, funneling all he learned into opening the Little Lamb Gastropub which he named using the first initials of his daughters’ names – Lily and Lilah.

It was Renew’s artistic and inventive prowess with the menu and the reputation he built at The Little Lamb that caught the notice of local developer, Frank Starkey, owner of People Places, Inc. Starkey was looking for an upscale downtown dining alternative for the bottom floor of the building he purchased on the corner of Missouri and Grand. Brett Ciper, owner of Ordinance One and a business partner of Starkey’s suggested Renew after making multiple treks from New Port Richey to The Little Lamb for dinner with his wife and kids.

A similar new restaurant would fill a much-needed void in the downtown scene while harkening back to earlier days when the beloved Cafe Grand was the place to go for fine food for locals.

After five years, Grand Cafe bistro is still New Port Richey’s little jewel, Tampa Bay Times, October 1995

It would also raise the bar for future downtown specialty restaurants, Starkey reasoned, some that have come to be since the opening of Estuary such as Sasha’s at the Hacienda Hotel, Zen Kitchen & Bar across the way on Grand Blvd., and Dang, which opened in February 2024 on Main Street.

“I think it’s going to elevate NPR dining options pretty quickly,” Starkey said in a 2023 interview. “It adds a dining experience that has not been there since Cafe Grand that I think will bring customers that haven’t been coming downtown.”

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How It’s Going

As with many new restaurant endeavors, there have been growing pains and ups and downs. Some in-house and some of which Renew has no control over.

New Port Richey has garnered a reputation as a city on the rise. That comes with its own set of growing pains.

Much of the draw has relied on a booming bar scene and casual dining that brings people downtown primarily on weekend nights as well as larger events that drive people to Sims Park and sometimes has the city blocking off downtown streets.

Parking on weekend nights and during events can be offputting, especially for out-of-town patrons who aren’t familiar with the off-street parking lots or the city’s trolley service that ferries people downtown from a parking garage on US Highway 19.

“We’ve had some people cancel reservations because of that,” Renew said, adding that he would like to see better signage for parking and the trolley.

Even so, Renew said there has been an uptick in business since the restaurant review was published in the Tampa Bay Times. Estuary also got a boost in making the notable list of the Times’ 25 top Restaurants to Open in Tampa Bay in 2023.

That publicity, along with a couple of local television spots has helped to drive new customers to Estuary while giving an added lift to The Little Lamb, Renew said.

“We’ve been getting new people from St. Pete and Tampa,” he said. “That’s good.”

“We’ve been getting a lot of good feedback,” he said. “Some not so good but I think that’s from people who don’t understand what we’re trying to do here. You can’t please everybody. We’ve made it a year and in the restaurant business that’s a pretty big feat. “