Lofty Ideas

Jordan manages the Sail Loft in Dartmouth.

What led you to start the Sail Loft?
I grew up in New Bedford and have lived here pretty much all my life. I come from a family full of food and beverage fanatics. My mom always had a part time job in a restaurant, so at a very young age I was sucked in. After working in various restaurants, I worked as an engineer right out of vocational school but I always had a passion for food and even more for beverage. After attending bartending school and running the gamut of various positions at various restaurants, a colleague of mine was trying to convince me to manage again. He drove me down to the Sail Loft, which was this little shell of a place in a boat yard over looking Padanaram Harbor. Almost six months later, things are working out and I love this little gem. It’s fun creative food in a great environment with a friendly staff. What I strive for is building relationships and seeing our guests return.

What can customers expect to drink at the Sail Loft?
We have a good selection of bottled beer, about eight to ten wines by the glass, and eight draft beers that change quite often. The cocktail menu is still in the works but we always run a few drink specials per week. My bar staff is so creative. They ask you what you drink and make you the specialty cocktail on the spot.

What are some of your popular dishes? Do they vary depending on the time of year?
Our most popular dish by far is our stuffed quahog. It won first place in the New Bedford Chowder Festival this past summer. It is so delicious and is served with a lemon wedge and drawn butter. We literally kicked off a new winter menu, but people have already been raving about our Ahi Tuna Wonton Nachos. Our Fig and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pork with port wine cream sauce, and Lobster Tacos are out of this world. Our menu was created as American fusion food. It blends different types of food together to create a great experience.

Tell me about your cocktail parties.
The Monday-Friday cocktail party is a great way for folks to come in and try our cocktails, beer and wine selection as well as have some food to nibble on. People who either work in the village or locals can all just kick back and network while having a snack on us.

What other fun events can we look forward to?
Every Thursday night we have live music 8-11pm with Butch McCarthy, who is a well-known acoustic artist in the South Coast area. He always covers great old songs and has a few of his own. On Friday and Saturday, the live entertainment varies, but every Sunday we do brunch at 10:30am with a Bloody Mary bar and live acoustic music with Kenny Richards from 3-6pm.

Where do most of your customers come from?
We definitely get people from Rhode Island for sure, its a nice scenic drive along the way to our restaurant with a couple of beaches and great shops. This small village is definitely known to be a destination for people in Rhode Island as well as the South Coast.

Any last thoughts?
The last thing to be said is that we love to support local and keep the very best/freshest ingredients in house here at the Sail Loft. We look forward to meeting more people from the bay area, and invite them in to experience what I call a hidden gem.