Yes, that was Jimmy Buffett at the Chesapeake Inn

Editor's note: Jimmy Buffett died Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. The following story is as it was originally published on Oct. 5, 2020.

He didn't eat a cheeseburger. Or drink a margarita.

But Jimmy Buffett did surprise customers and visitors this weekend when he docked his 42-foot catamaran at a Chesapeake City, Maryland, marina and ordered food from the Chesapeake Inn.

Chesapeake Inn Restaurant & Marina owner Gianmarco Martuscelli said he knew in advance about Buffett's visit. Buffett's personal assistant and the captain of his boat notified him a few days ahead of time that Buffett's sport fishing boat would be coming to the marina over the weekend.

"The funny part is the guy at marina said, 'We're full that day,'" Martuscelli said, laughing, adding that the marina and Chesapeake Inn has been very busy all summer.

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Martuscelli, who also owns Newark's Klondike Kate's and La Casa Pasta in Glasgow, said after doing some jiggering, they had a slip available in the back of the marina where most of the seasonal boats are docked.

Buffett, known for his songs celebrating a laid-back lifestyle, is an avid boater and fisherman. His customized catamaran with a Merritt-built pilothouse and its seafoam green hull is hard to miss.

Martuscelli said it didn't take long for word to get around that Buffett was in Chesapeake City.

"His boat is very noticeable. It's not a normal boat. It's pretty incredible," he said.

Parrot Heads, as Buffett's diehard fans are called, might still live the pirate lifestyle, but Buffett has long ago changed his ways.

He told The News York Times in 2018 that now he only occasionally drinks margaritas. “I don’t do sugar anymore,” he said. “No sugar and no carbs. Except on Sunday.”

He still seems to be following some of those self-imposed rules. Well, maybe not the carbs part.

On Sunday, Buffett and companions ate sushi, brick oven pizza, crab bisque, lobster and crab salad and a tray of crab claws.

"They were going out on the Chesapeake all day. [Buffett] really likes this area. He came from the Hamptons," Martuscelli said, adding Buffett visited the Chesapeake Inn about five years ago.

Martuscelli said Buffett's boat captain asked if they could have security at the end of the docks. He said Buffett, who is 73, was taking "big COVID precautions because of his age. He had a mask on."

Buffett posted pictures on his Instagram stories about the visit and wore a Chesapeake Inn hat in one of the photos.

"My phone was buzzing left and right," said Martuscelli, who didn't get to meet the singer. "I wasn't there. My son had a baseball tournament."

He said Buffett met the restaurant's chef and general manager. "He was really nice and was so cool and personable."

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Martuscelli said the catamaran left the marina Monday morning. But before they left, they ordered more crab bisque to go.

In late August, the Chesapeake Inn made national news when a customer took a photo of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney dining inside the restaurant.

Martuscelli, who has met Kenney a few times, said the mayor had called to tell him he would be visiting.

Martuscelli said the upstairs portion of the bayside restaurant was booked for a private event, "so I got him a nice window table. Then all hell broke loose."

Philadelphia restaurateur Marc Vetri posted the photo of Kenney dining at the Chesapeake Inn and shamed the mayor since Philadelphia restaurant owners had been prohibited from indoor dining since March.

“Glad you’re enjoying indoor dining with no social distancing or mask-wearing in Maryland tonight while restaurants here in Philly close, suffer and fight for every nickel just to survive," Vetri wrote on his Instagram account. The photo of Kenney was shared on other social media sites.

Kenney apologized and the indoor dining ban in Philadelphia was lifted Sept. 8, though restaurants there are only allowed seating at 25% capacity.

"This summer has been crazy. It's 2020," Martuscelli said.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or [email protected] and on Twitter @pattytalorico

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Jimmy Buffett surprises customers at Chesapeake Inn in Maryland