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The first thing the Marblehead Select Board wanted to know about the Driftwood Restaurant under its new owner was not the hours or the seat count. It was whether the fried dough was staying.
Select Board Chair Dan Fox said he had told his daughters the hearing was happening that night, and they sent him in with a question: “ask her if the fried dough is staying.”
“Fried dough is staying,” Maria Torres answered.
The board then voted unanimously to approve a common victualler license for Maria’s Gourmet Cafe Inc., doing business as Driftwood Restaurant, at 63 Front St. Torres is listed as manager. The restaurant is open again after a brief hiatus, returning under her ownership following 45 years of Galvin family stewardship on Front Street. Torres’ message to the board was that customers would not find much different when they walked in.
“We are not planning to change anything,” Torres told the board. “We’re just cleaning it up, doing the updates that are required by Board of Health to bring it up to code, just some painting, cleaning, couple new things in the kitchen, but pretty much keeping everything the same. We don’t want to upset anybody in town.”
Board member Jim Zisson pressed on one more item. “Why mess with success?” he said. “Wait, there’s one other. Are you bringing your muffins, though?”
Torres indicated the muffins would be coming, though the recording of her answer is garbled. She also said she expected to add something to the menu, without specifying what.
The license authorizes operation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday, with a seating capacity of 35, subject to receipt of required fees and sign-offs. The application lists background music as the only entertainment, during the same hours. Maria’s Gourmet Cafe Inc. was incorporated in Massachusetts on June 11, according to the application, which Torres signed June 29 and which gives a mailing address of 7 Bessom St.
The seating plans filed with the application, sketched on graph paper at a scale of one square per foot, show a counter with six stools, a row of booths labeled “seating booth” along one wall, two tables near the door, a coffee station and a refrigerator. A second sheet maps the kitchen, including a prep area, a fry-o-lator and a dish station.
Fox, looking at the drawings, said the arrangement appeared to be the one already there. “Looks like you’re keeping the exact same layout that you already have,” he said.
Torres had made a similar case publicly a week earlier. In a July 1 statement posted to social media under her name and the Maria’s Gourmet team, she confirmed the sale — “the rumors are true” — and thanked the community for its patience during the transition, “particularly to Colleen and her team.” The statement described the Driftwood as more than a breakfast spot for nearly 60 years and said the restaurant is part of Marblehead’s history for residents and visitors alike.
The statement made one commitment in bold type: “to honor everything you’ve loved about the Driftwood while thoughtfully building on its legacy.” It told regulars that “the heart of the Driftwood isn’t going anywhere,” and asked for patience and feedback while kitchen renovations are finished.
No one from the board raised concerns about the application, and no member of the public spoke on it. “Thank you for coming in front of us and keeping that going,” Fox said before the vote.
The menu filed with the licensing packet lists fried dough at $3.75, served Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
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