The riverfront restaurant, overlooking Rocky Hill’s Ferry Landing, is prime real estate. So when Kathy Denisiewicz found out the former Mitchell’s on the River space was available, she reached out to her niece, Jenna Cavalieri, who was home in Connecticut after spending time working in San Francisco.
“She asked me, ‘Do you want to open a restaurant on the water?’ and I said ‘No,’ ” Cavalieri recalls with a laugh. She had been bartending in California and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next, but she didn’t think she wanted to commit full-time to her home state. But the seasonal nature of the restaurant appealed to her, and she joined forces with her experienced aunt to create Shad Row.
The edgy eatery is now heading into its second summer. Diners can enjoy fun food and a relaxed, beachy atmosphere with a front-row river view of the state’s oldest continuously operating ferry service shuttling cars and pedestrians back and forth between Rocky Hill and South Glastonbury.
In Rocky Hill, those familiar with Denisiewicz’s Spicy Green Bean will see some similarities with her offbeat Glastonbury restaurant, where diners love the lighthearted vibe, innovative sandwiches and rotating, imaginative “kooky konkoctions.” At Shad Row – the name plays on the river fish – the eclectic menu is half seafood shack and half “land-lover,” with a mix of fare, including lobster rolls, salads, burgers, grilled cheese and other daily surprises that highlight the kitchen’s creativity and skill level.
Denisiewicz has been in the restaurant business since “the day I turned 16,” she says, and notes that some of her most useful industry experience came at her sister and brother-in-law’s Hartford deli – named for their daughter, Jenna. A few decades later, Shad Row is another family affair, with a third relative, Cavalieri’s cousin Michael Denisiewicz, in the kitchen as chef. There are even throwbacks to Jenna’s Deli on the menu, including “Paulie’s Famous Meatball Sandwich” with roasted red pepper, and the special-recipe housemade mint iced tea with a hint of lemon.
Shad Row received positive buzz mostly through word of mouth in its first year, and by spring, Spicy Green Bean guests were clamoring to find out when its sister would open for the 2015 season.
“This year, there was no time for a soft opening,” Cavalieri says. “People were waiting at the door. We’ve already had people back five times and we’ve been open two-and-a-half weeks.”
There’s a distinct beachfront vibe with open-air deck seating, brightly colored shore-themed décor (pelicans, seashells, surfboards) and thatched tiki umbrellas. There are picnic tables down by the water, along with toys and lawn games to pass the time during waits for seating. Dogs are welcome, too.
“We try to funk it out like the Bean a little, with the ridiculous colors, to keep everybody happy at all times,” Denisiewicz says.
“We want you to feel like you’re on vacation, just for a minute, even though you’re in Rocky Hill,” Cavalieri adds. “You don’t have to drive 45 minutes to an hour to go to the beach.”
Best-sellers include market-priced lobster rolls (served either cold with lemon-herb mayo, or hot with scampi butter), fried whole-belly clams, lobster grilled cheese, a BBQ pulled pork “Cubano” and two favorites from Spicy Green Bean, a housemade veggie burger and Asian BBQ-slathered pork short ribs with frites. Sandwiches and platters ($6.95 to $14.95) come with a choice of two sides, including fries, onion rings, potato salad and coleslaw.
Though the staple menu is fairly casual, “fine plated” dinner specials (available Thursday through Sunday) are where the chefs enjoy experimenting. Recent offerings include steak and cheese pierogi; beet and burrata salad; chorizo plantain empanadas; lobster skins (classic potato skins loaded with lobster meat and drizzled with buttermilk crema); and seasonally available soft shell crab, sauteed in garlic lemon butter or panko-crusted and fried. A $32 surf and turf option features a choice of jumbo sea scallops, cod or shrimp with a pairing of skirt steak, petite filet mignon, grilled chorizo, pulled pork or pork flat iron, with a side of veggies, potato salad or lobster mac and cheese.
With the restaurant’s BYOB policy, “people are bringing in really nice bottles of wine…just sitting and relaxing,” Denisiewicz says.
Shad Row is Cavalieri’s first ownership experience, and she said it’s been “challenging,” but credits her aunt’s mentorship. “If I didn’t have her, I’d probably be struggling a little more.” She loves the social aspects of the job, often sitting and chatting with customers.
The restaurant’s May to October season presents its obstacles – for one, Cavalieri says she “never thought I’d have to pay attention to weather so much in my life” – but it allows her to live a bicoastal lifestyle, spending the spring and summer in Connecticut and returning to San Francisco for the winter months.
Though they’re ramping up for a busy summer, both aunt and niece say they’re having a great time at their “little slice of heaven.” “My real vision was I just wanted it to be fun for everyone. Then it’s not really like work for me, either,” Denisiewicz says.
“It’s long, hot days on my feet,” Cavalieri agrees, “but it’s awesome.”
>>Shad Row, 277 Meadow Road, Rocky Hill, is open Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dinner hours may be added earlier in the week as the season continues. The restaurant is cash-only with an ATM on the premises. 860-571-0535, shadrowct.com.
This summer we’re telling the stories behind Connecticut’s beloved seasonal restaurants — the destinations that open for an all-too-brief time period in fair weather. These are the small lobster shacks with the buttery rolls you crave in January when you’re shoveling snow, the ice cream stands that throw open their windows with the first warm breeze, the beach-town eateries where the salt of fried whole belly clams and onion rings is enhanced by ocean air. Find the series throughout the summer at ctnow.com/summersweetspots.
