Pleasure Pier plan calls for retail center

GALVESTON — Plans for a resurrected pleasure pier at 25th Street envision a retail center on the north side of Seawall Boulevard and a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant, Landry’s Inc. owner Tilman Fertitta said Monday at the company’s Houston headquarters.

The $60 million redevelopment will include a paid parking lot with 500 spaces and changing the intersection at 25th Street and Seawall Boulevard into a pedestrian-friendly area.

Fertitta and Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski said the company and the city are working on plans to develop a shuttle service along the seawall to transport visitors from the various hotels. One of the shuttle stops would be at the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier.

Landry’s would develop property across the street from the pleasure pier for parking and a retail center to be called Gifts at Pleasure Pier, officials said.

To the west of the Landry’s-owned Fish Tales restaurant will be a paid parking lot to accommodate crowds.

In addition to the 16 rides and amusements, there will be a performance stage, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant and a quick-order Gump on the Run eatery at the pier, along with other smaller food venues.

With rides that will reach 260 feet above the Gulf of Mexico and others that swing out over the water, Fertitta promised the Galveston pier will rival similar amusement piers in Chicago, Santa Monica, Calif. and Coney Island, N.Y.

Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski said the project was a “game changer” for the island’s seawall. With the recent enhancements at Fort Crockett Park and planned improvements to come from seawall parking fees, the mayor compared Fertitta’s move to “the Calvary coming over the bridge.”

Year-round Fun

Mark Kane, the general manager of Landry’s Kemah Boardwalk, who also will oversee operations of the pleasure pier as Landry’s regional director for its theme park division, said like the Kemah Boardwalk, the pleasure pier would plan to be open year-round.

There will be an admission charge for entry to the pleasure pier as well, officials said. While price points have not been finalized, a family of four will be able to go to the pier and have unlimited rides for less than $90, Keith Beitler, Landry’s senior vice president, said.

Construction on the 1,200-foot pier that until recently held the Flagship Hotel should be completed by Memorial Day weekend, Fertitta said. While the company has been working on the pier for more than a year, Fertitta wanted to wait until rides were being installed before making Monday’s announcement.

Stay A Day Longer

“This is going to be huge economically,” Fertitta said. “It will be a great family destination.”

A family destination aimed at getting visitors to spend an extra day on the island as they visit the pier as well as the island’s other attractions, including the beach, shopping downtown or visiting Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn, Fertitta said.

“My biggest concern will be: Where do we put all the people?” he asked.

When the original pleasure pier opened in 1948, headlines proclaimed more than 1,500 people turned out. Landry’s officials are looking at larger crowds.

Kane said the company expects 3 million visitors a year to the pleasure pier, which is about what the Kemah Boardwalk draws, according to the company.

With that in mind, Fertitta said he purchased additional property along 25th Street that could be converted into extra parking if needed. He expected most people won’t mind walking the extra distance to get to the pier because they would be able to take a stroll along the seawall or catch one of the shuttles.

Hometown Nostalgia

An island native, Fertitta remembers days working as a lifeguard at the Flagship Hotel pool, where the Bubba Gump restaurant will be at the pier.

He also remembers when developers built the iconic hotel. A photo of the original opening pleasure pier in 1948 featured his great-great uncles Sam and Rose Maceo, who were stockholders in the original Pleasure Pier Corp.

It was Fertitta who decided the pleasure pier’s future would be about recapturing its past, Beitler said.

“It’s fun to go back and do things in Galveston,” Fertitta said. “When you look at the whole development on 53rd Street (The San Luis, Galveston Island convention center, Hilton Hotel, Rainforest Café and Landry’s Restaurant) that’s where I used to go and play. It’s always fun to go back and there is that nostalgia part of it.

“Of course, I would not have done as much in this town if it was not my hometown.”

No Worries

Fertitta scoffed at any notion the pleasure pier would pull crowds away from the Kemah Boardwalk, which is the primary economic engine in the Kemah/Clear Lake Shores area.

“That’s like saying, ‘do you open another restaurant or hotel because you are worried about it?’” Fertitta asked. “I have three hotels right next to each other in Galveston (and) I have 65 restaurants in the Houston/Galveston area so I don’t think about that. Remember, we are dealing with 5 million people within 100 miles (of Galveston).”

He also didn’t express concern about any possible damage from the next hurricane that would come across Galveston.

“If you look at the structures on the pier, there isn’t much for the wind to grab a hold of,” he said. “If you remember after (Hurricane Ike in 2008) most of our restaurants and hotels opened within a few days.”

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At A Glance

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier facts

• 16 rides

• 1 full-service restaurant, 7 quick-serve food kiosks and the Lollipop and Pops Candy store with a 120-flavor Coca-Cola fountain machine

• Three merchandise retail outlets, including Gifts at Pleasure Pier across the street, the 400-square-foot retail at Bubba Gump’s and the Pelicans Bag with themed merchandise from the pier

• An entertainment stage, giant TV and barbecue pit at the back of the pier near the Galaxy Wheel Ferris wheel for special events and private parties.

• 1,130-foot long pier

• Capacity of about 6,500 to 7,000 people

• Admission: $25.99 for adults and $19.99 for children (includes unlimited rides). Family pack to sell for less than $90 for family of four. A pier walk-on pass that doesn’t include rides will sell for $10 for adults and $8 for children.*

• 650 employees

• Scheduled to open in May and be open year-round about 250 to 280 days a year and open late on weekends, sometimes to midnight.

* Tentative prices, not finalized

SOURCE: Landry’s Inc.