• Courtesy Of Ben Hudson
• Original Skiff Fish + Oyster logo

The Heirloom Hospitality restaurant group owned by Eric Warnstedt, chef-founder of Hen of the Wood in Burlington and Waterbury, is partnering with the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain at 60 Battery Street to launch a new casual seafood restaurant in spring 2024.

Original Skiff Fish + Oyster will be located in a newly designed space on the north side of the hotel's first floor. The 258-room hotel, soon to be rebranded as Hotel Champlain, is currently open while undergoing renovations to its front drive and entry area.

Warnstedt and members of his 160-person team are creating and designing the restaurant for DiamondRock Hospitality, which owns the hotel property. Unlike Heirloom's other restaurants, which also include Prohibition Pig in Waterbury and Doc Ponds in Stowe, Original Skiff will be operated by the hotel's management company, Aimbridge Hospitality, after it launches, Warnstedt said.

"It will be our brand, our food, our recipes — but we're not running the restaurant," Warnstedt said. Heirloom will participate in hiring and training restaurant staff.

Original Skiff will have 90 inside seats, plus 37 on an existing patio and a new outdoor dining area.

"We've wanted to create an oyster bar for years," Warnstedt said. "It will have a little bit of a throwback feel: playful, campy, nostalgic."

The menu will feature a raw bar and daily fish specials sourced through Wood Mountain Fish. Recipes under development include salt cod fritters, smoked bluefish chowder, and steamed mussels and clams.

Original Skiff will also serve slushies, creemees and "ice-cold beer," Warnstedt said. "This is where I want to go out."