OCEAN CITY — Third-generation restaurateur Maryanne Nolan knows changing with the times is vital to survival in the business world, especially when competing with so many others for dollars in a short window.
That’s why she tries to include something for everyone on her menu at Starfish Café, located at the foot of the boardwalk on the main entrance into the city at 822 Ninth St.
“We are a family eatery where you could have four generations here and each would find something they can enjoy,” Nolan said. “If there’s a granddaughter who’s a vegan, she’ll find her vegan options. The grandfather wants his Taylor pork roll and eggs, he’ll find that. So, it’s really something for everyone.”
Nolan said most of her items are made from scratch and that she is careful to cater to people with allergies.
“We use a lot of fresh ingredients. Everything is cooked on location — the sauces, dressings and bowls are all homemade,” she said. “If you are going to have a variety of people with a variety of interests, we have vegan and carnivore. Everyone can find something they like.”
“The freshest food away from home” is the eatery’s motto, and even the children’s menu offers homemade chicken nuggets rather than processed and frozen items with questionable nutritional value.
“We have a lot of choices for different types of eaters,” she said.
Nolan’s grandfather, Gus Grames, bought the building and it has been in the family for 65 years, she said. Grames operated the Taylor Pork Roll shop on the boardwalk in the 1970s. She opened Starfish Café in July 2016.
Starfish Café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner beginning at 6:30 a.m. daily. There are about 68 seats inside and outside on the patio, where the morning sun welcomes diners as they break their fast.
The menu includes breakfast sandwiches, burritos and bowls, omelets, flatbreads and juices and smoothies made to order.
The Starfish Benedict is smoked salmon or all natural ham, poached eggs, roasted tomatoes, asparagus and citrus hollandaise served on an English muffin.
“If you come here, you will find something to enjoy,” Nolan said.
An item that looks and tastes good is the Patriot, a bowl with blended pure organic acai, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and bananas topped with granola.
For lunch and dinner, there are sandwiches, burgers and tacos. Starfish Café offers a Philly cheesesteak and a Buddha veggie quinoa burger, topped with avocado slices and a side of tomato chutney on a brioche roll.
Nolan said the teriyaki salmon bowl is very popular, as is the aloha smoothie and Huli Huli bowl.
One thing on the menu that could not be ignored is the Pink Elephant Juice — a mix of beet, orange, carrot, apple, lemon and ginger, perhaps as a chaser to the wheat grass shot.
Island residents Kristin Fulmer and husband Alvaro Puga, both 53, are regular customers at the Starfish.
Puga said he likes the location, and Fulmer added that she enjoys sitting outside.
“It’s a great location. The food is really good. The smoothies are great,” Fulmer said. “They are always very friendly here.”
“We have a beautiful outdoor patio just steps from the beach,” Nolan said.
With summer bearing down like a runaway train, the couple said they are hoping for a terrific season.
“We are looking forward to it being busy and the local merchants recovering from COVID,” Puga said.
In the kitchen, Daniel Ortiz, 24, and Carlos Hieguera, 22, were cooking alongside Karina Carranza, 21. Nolan said she hires about 20 employees each year ranging from dishwashers to cooks in the back and servers to smoothie makers in the front.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
