For some, it will feel like a new beginning. For others, a familiar name restored. For one local, it’s a full-circle moment — breathing new life back into the restaurant he built alongside his father 30 years ago, now in a quiet tribute to his legacy.
Rose Bay Fish Camp, located at 5993 S. Ridgewood Ave. in Port Orange, is in the midst of a revival, according to owners Dino and Victoria Maxwell.
The couple, owners and directors of the AJ Maxwell Educational Foundation, have spent the last several months restoring “what once was” at the waterfront property — home to the original Rose Bay Fish Camp, which opened in 1997 after the longstanding Brigadoon’s Fish Camp moved across the bay.
The Maxwell’s see the reimagined space as not just a restaurant, but a destination rooted in Old Florida — a return to the kind of fish camp feel where entertainment isn’t on a screen but on the bay with waterfront views, cold drinks and family-friendly fun soaking up the afternoon.
Rose Bay Fish Camp revived
As guests step inside the Port Orange venue, formerly Hidden Treasure Tiki Bar & Grill, they’re greeted by a kaleidoscope of vintage pieces and salvaged treasures, all curated from the same collection that fills South Daytona’s Maxwell Castle — the foundation’s community-focused showcase where preservation, history and storytelling converge, all in honor of Dino’s late father, AJ Maxwell.
“My dad used to buy and salvage World War II PT boats and other kinds of boats, dismantle them and save parts. He was a collector,” Dino said, beginning in the late ‘50s with Winchester rifles — coveted for their craftmanship, history and enduring ties to the American frontier.
“He amassed a huge collection … So, before my dad’s passing, we started a nonprofit to preserve all of that, and we’ve since made sure that this property is in the name of the (AJ Maxwell Educational Foundation),” with proceeds from the restaurant funding the education and preservation of early American artifacts, he said.
“Walk around, pick something out, and I can tell you all the history about it,” Dino continued, moving through the space like a living catalog — his arm brushing past a 1922 Adirondack guide boat purchased in Freeport, New York, he tells me, before shifting attention to the next piece.
His father’s hand-carved, wooden creations from decades past hang from overhead beams alongside warship spotlights from the 1940s, decorative oddities dating back half a century from Lyme, Connecticut, and roughly 120 outboard motors — a small glimpse into his collection of more than 400.
“There’s a thousand different items in just this one room … but if it was up to my father, there would be a lot more,” Dino laughed. “… So, we’re actually going to take those first two rooms (along the entrance) and make it a museum,” giving guests an on-site taste of The Maxwell Castle experience.”
What to expect at Rose Bay Fish Camp
At the entrance, a nine-hole Putt-Putt course greets guests with a wink of nostalgia before the space opens to its striking focal point — a classic wooden skiff-turned-full-bar anchoring the dining room.
In a coincidental twist of fate, the abandoned boat, sourced from a Daytona boatyard, was discovered to be the very one Dino’s father had owned before selling it in 1974, he said.
Beyond cocktails and brews, the experience drifts outward onto the restaurant’s deck, built directly over the bay, where paddleboarders and jet skis pass like part of the scenery — a defining element of the Rose Bay experience that the duo is intent on preserving.
Seating will be scaled back from 380 to 151 and TVs removed, a deliberate shift toward a more old-school, unplugged atmosphere that naturally spills outdoors.
There, a community fire pit, live music from the Bait Shack Bandshell, and plans for a roughly 500-square-foot treehouse overlooking the bay layer in a sense of discovery.
The result is less a single dining room and more a collection of moments — designed to be wandered, sipped through, and taken in from every vantage point.
Menu at Rose Bay Fish Camp
“We’re gonna do more fish camp style — not your typical something that you could get at every restaurant,” Dino said, with Victoria agreeing.
“We’re foodies, you know? We cook every day, and that’s what we’re accustomed to. So, we like to experiment with flavors,” she said.
The restaurant will source most of its offerings from King’s Seafood, less than a mile up the road, the couple noted, and plans to introduce several specials, gradually adjusting its menu based on customer feedback.
Alongside shark kabobs, grouper throats and ribs, classic burgers and chicken sandwiches, guests can look forward to throwback favorites from Miss Genevieve’s Lighthouse Landing Restaurant, like whole baked snapper.
The Ponce Inlet eatery, named after Dino’s mother, Genevieve, opened under the Maxwells in the mid ’70s. Today, the location is home to Hidden Treasure Rum Bar & Grill.
When is Rose Bay Fish Camp opening?
Though no official date is set, the Maxwells are shooting for a mid-summer opening.
“We’re making headway, but we’re doing it all ourselves, so it’s gonna take a while. Sooner isn’t always better — that’s the way we look at it. We want to take our time and do things right,” Dino said, noting while interest from potential managing partners has surfaced, finding the right fit remains priority.
“They need to have that same passion and same desire we have for preserving what is here long after we’re gone,” Victoria said.
For information and updates, visit facebook.com/RoseBayFishCamp.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Seafood restaurant, entertainment venue to open on Rose Bay
Reporting by Helena Perray, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
