New seafood restaurant coming to Macon

A family-owned seafood restaurant is opening its first Georgia location in Macon.

Greenville, S.C.-based Silver Bay Seafood Restaurants Inc., is planning to move into the former Ryan’s restaurant at 4690 Presidential Parkway. Following “big renovations” to the building, the Silver Bay is expected to open by the end of October, said Gus Sialmas, who owns the business with his two brothers.

“We will have over 60 different seafood items, and we have 50 items under $10,” Sialmas said. “We will serve beer and wine.”

The full-service restaurant also will carry steak, chicken and pasta. It will be open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. six days a week for lunch and dinner. It will be closed on Mondays.

The nearly 11,000-square-foot restaurant will seat close to 450, and it will have a room for private parties for up to 150 people.

Silver Bay expects to employ more than 100 full- and part-time workers and will begin hiring at the restaurant by mid-September, he said.

The building has been vacant since Ryan’s closed in early 2012 after its parent company filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Sialmas first came to Macon about seven years ago looking to put Silver Bay in a former restaurant on Gray Highway.

The deal fell through, but Sialmas never forgot how he felt about the city.

“I’ve been in love with Macon for seven years,” he said. “We will bring everything from the ocean to Macon, Georgia.”

To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.

This story was originally published August 19, 2014 at 5:49 PM with the headline "New seafood restaurant coming to Macon."