Mariner’s Inn was started as a spin off of Port of Call on Esplanade Avenue by Dennis Downey and David Grest. Ownership was then passed on to me, Bruce Labrecque, on Friday October 13, 1982. I agreed to be involved for only one year and then planned to move to a career in the agricultural industry.

That was the plan…

The oil field crashed, children arrived, a partner was bought out, debt mounted and a series of opportunities, complications, and challenged developed into The Mariner’s Inn.

In the beginning it was simply about tropical drinks, cold long necks, delicious burgers and stuffed baked potatoes! With the laid-back attitude of easy fun, we were (and still are) the northern most point of the Caribbean.

Not too much changed from the day to day and then EVERYTHING changed at once. Around the world, food went from something necessary to something to be explored and celebrated. Hammond went from a sleepy college oriented downtown with several restaurants and twice as many bars to the thriving center of today with nearly 25 food and beverage establishments and a busting nightlight.

Mariner’s changed and grew along with the rest of the restaurant world. As we added knowledge and skills we added new and familiar dishes and beverages with our own unique twists. These often came as suggestions from our staff and loyal customers. Some examples include our version of Buffalo Wings, Jim & Dave’s Kickin Chicken, the portobello pizza, and the Black Beard’s Margarita.

As the footprint and range of the menu increased, so did our staff. We grew from an initial group of six to nearly thirty today. Nowadays, we are hiring the grand children of very first customers!