Bon voyage, Forbes Island. Berthed between Piers 39 and 41 for the last 18 years, the quirky floating restaurant and tourist destination has shuttered for good.
“After nearly 20 years at the Pier 39 marina, Forbes Island has closed and is ready to set sail for a new adventure,” Sue Muzzin, a representative for the pier told Eater.
Owner Forbes Kiddoo—who started building the boat that houses the restaurant in 1975—has decided to retire. Muzzin added that Kiddoo hopes to sell the island and that it may appear again in another yet-to-be-determined location in the future.
The island has a history of closing for maintenance without much notice, and earlier this spring, it shut down again. When we reached out to find out more at that time, a recorded voice message from director of operations Pierre Bleuse stated that all reservations were cancelled, but the business would be up and running again after scheduled temporary maintenance.
The restaurant was forced to close in 2013 as well, when an accidental fire started in one of the private rooms. Kiddoo reportedly put out the small blaze himself with a garden hose, and the island was back in business shortly after.
The island would routinely leave the harbor every decade or so for repairs and a fresh paint job, most recently in June 2016, when Hoodline tipsters spotted the restaurant—topped with live palm trees and a lighthouse—traveling across the Bay.
Soon after the previous closure, the restaurant began taking reservations for its expected return. But now, the restaurant telephone line is no longer connected, and the island has sailed off into the sunset.
