Ottawa Beach Inn closed for good as ownership plans Mexican restaurant
Ottawa Beach Inn, 2155 Ottawa Beach Road, recently finished construction on its wood-covered, permanent patio.
Cassandra Lybrink, The Holland Sentinel
5 min read
PARK TWP. ā Ottawa Beach Inn as Hollanders have known it for the past half-century is no more.
The restaurant has closed its doors in preparation for an extensive renovation and rebranding as Playa Tacos and Tequilas, specializing in Mexican street food, in May.
"Playa" is the Spanish word for beach. The name commemorates the restaurant's proximity to Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan at 2155 Ottawa Beach Road in Park Township.
āOttawa Beach Inn has been a Holland mainstay for 50 years and our team is grateful to have played a role in that rich history,ā said Eric Chaitin, owner of River and Odi Hospitality Group, which purchased the restaurant in 2014.
āPlaya Tacos and Tequilas is an entirely new concept, one weāre exceptionally proud to have built from the ground up and one we know will serve our neighbors in Holland well.ā
Playa Tacos and Tequilas will specialize in Mexican street food. Holland is home to a wide array of Mexican and Spanish restaurants.
Management at the restaurant has been eyeing changes throughout the pandemic, seeking to upgrade its menu and decor and debuting a water-facing, wood-covered patio in 2021.
That patio concept will remain, but the remodel will add garage doors for a fresh-air dining experience during the warm summer months, an extended full bar and an expanded fireplace wall.
The decision to extensively remodel the facility came before the idea to rebrand, Chaitin told The Sentinel.
"A lot of it was driven by what we're finding to be really just a new environment," he said. "We've ended up with the desire for more open-air and challenges in the labor market. Those two pieces inspired us to start thinking about making a serious commitment to investing in the facility and, in doing that, we thought it might be a good time to look at rebranding as well."
Playa Tacos and Tequilas will serve craft cocktails and menu items like carne asada, diablo shrimp and chorizo tacos. Curated menu items for larger groups will also be available, plus a drink menu with more than 150 different tequilas and mezcals. Unlike Ottawa Beach Inn, the new restaurant will be open year-round.
Ottawa Beach Inn, as Hollanders have known it for the past 50 years, is no more. The restaurant will reopen in May as Playa Tacos and Taquilas.
"Modern Mexican cuisine is something our culinary team is really passionate about," Chaitin said. "And it gives an opportunity for more fun beach cocktails."
Holland is well-known as a haven for Mexican restaurants, with established eateries like El Huarache, El Rancho, Fat Burrito, Tacos El Cunado and Don Miguel.
But this restaurant, Chaitin said, will be different.
"If you look at Holland's existing Latino restaurants, they're what I would characterize as very American interpretations of Latino and Mexican food," Chaitin said. "And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. For example, I love big American-Italian restaurants with spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna and garlic bread. But we all know it's very different when you're in Portofino having dinner.
"Instead of having five bottles of tequila and the ones you probably knew and drank in college, we're going to have 150. Our margaritas are going to be 100 percent fresh, handcrafted juices, no preservatives, fresh lime and oranges. Our guacamole will be made daily, fresh salsas, fresh juices. It's a very different experience. Mexican-American food is often over-portioned and focuses heavily on rice and beans. We'll be utilizing all different parts of the animals and the vegetables, with a much lighter and more authentic touch."
For those wondering, that includes seafood tacos.
"We're going to use ocean species with terrific fish, we'll have awesome grain bowls, salad bowls, tacos with all sorts of different proteins and vegetables," Chaitin said. "You're not going to sit down and see wet burritos. It's very different. I think we've got some educating to do, but I think folks will still find there's a tremendous value there."
River and Odi had to go beyond local clientele when developing the restaurant.
"The reality is, as much as we love Holland and the Holland clientele, visitors come through the state park area and they're from all over the place," Chaitin said. "They make reservations months and months in advance to be at the parks. We need to be inclusive of those visitors as well, because that's a big part of the Holland community."
River and Odi ā which also owns Mermaid Waterfront Bar and Grill and Baldy's Smoked Meats in Saugatuck ā will seek to hire about 50 employees to start the summer season with job fairs planned for late February and mid-March. Applications are available online at riverandodi.com.
Whatever the changes, Chaitin and the team at River and Odi remain grateful for the previous owners of Ottawa Beach Inn and the work they've done. Until it was purchased in 2014, the business was owned by Tim Overway ā owner of Hog Wild BBQ in Holland Township.
"The Overway family did such a good job of creating something that was ahead of its time and bringing its hospitality to the forefront," Chaitin said. "We want to honor that."