"Our vision for Ocean 46 is to create a true neighborhood destination that brings people together through exceptional food, warm hospitality and an experience that keeps guests coming back," Antonio Sandolo said in a release this September. He had just signed for the old Crab Shell building on Southfield Avenue.
Sandolo runs Antonio's Restaurant Group, which also operates Antonio's Italian Bistro and Zucchero in Darien and Antonio's Kitchen & Bar in Trumbull. A month earlier, the team behind The Quartiere had signed a long-term lease at 15 Harbor Point. That team spent five years making its name on Bank Street. In the same weeks, Fortina closed its rooftop on Washington Boulevard after nearly 11 years. Its two remaining locations are in Armonk and Rye Brook, New York.
Put those moves side by side and a pattern shows up. The waterfront tables that opened during Harbor Point's first decade are now going to restaurant groups based a short drive up I-95 or across town. Those groups are also signing leases measured in years, not seasons.
Four addresses, one summer
The changes came in quick succession. Most happened between late July and early September 2026.
| Address | Previous tenant | Status as of fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Harbor Point | Mexicue, closed 2025 | KIN Social, seasonal pop-up from The Quartiere team, open since late July |
| Washington Boulevard rooftop | Fortina, opened 2015 | Last service Aug. 31, 2026; no new tenant announced |
| 46 Southfield Avenue | The Crab Shell, closed 2025 | Ocean 46 from Antonio's Restaurant Group, 15-year lease, no opening date announced |
| Bank Street, downtown | The Quartiere, opened 2021 | Closed after five years; a new eatery is reported to be moving in |
In early August, Hey Stamford noted that the Crab Shell property was still vacant with no announcement about what would replace it. Five weeks later, it had a tenant locked in for the next decade and a half.
The Quartiere team traded Bank Street for the boardwalk
The Quartiere opened downtown in 2021, and CT Insider says it quickly became known for homemade pasta, wood-fired pizza and craft cocktails. The name comes from the Italian word for "neighborhood." Its farewell post on Instagram thanked the people who "filled the tables, pulled up a seat at the bar, celebrated milestones with us."
The team kept going. Late in July it opened KIN Social in the former Mexicue space at 15 Harbor Point, billed as "A Quartiere Project." The menu is new: globally inspired small plates meant for sharing, plus handcrafted cocktails. The restaurant team described KIN as an expansion of the neighborhood-restaurant idea and said Harbor Point's "waterfront setting, and sense of community made it the perfect place to bring this idea to life."
The details that matter this fall are in the lease terms. CT Insider reported a July 31 launch. Hey Stamford's announcement gives July 31 in one place and July 24 in another. On Sept. 2, a spokesperson for Harbor Point told CT Insider that "KIN Social remains fully operational at Harbor Point as a seasonal pop-up," and added that more details on what's next for the space would come in the future. So the pop-up is temporary, the commitment to the space is long-term, and the permanent concept has not been named. If you're planning a late-fall dinner at KIN, check its current hours first, because a seasonal pop-up can wind down without much notice.
BLT has said the KIN deal is part of bringing "unique, locally owned businesses" to the waterfront.
Fifteen years at the old Crab Shell
The Ocean 46 lease covers more than 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space and runs 15 years, according to a release from Building and Land Technology. Plans call for an indoor bar, an outdoor bar and a dining room overlooking the harbor. The menu as described covers seafood, steaks, burgers, pastas, Italian-inspired specialties and signature cocktails.
Trumbull and Darien diners may already know the group's style from Antonio's Kitchen & Bar and Antonio's Italian Bistro. As of the Stamford Advocate's Sept. 8 report, no opening date had been announced, and no later update had appeared by early October. The building has sat dark since 2025. A 15-year lease means the next restaurant on that corner is planned to stay through the early 2040s.
Fortina ran for about 11 years, which puts that 15-year term in context. The Stamford location opened in 2015, three years after the brand was founded, and the Advocate says it became "an instant magnet for young professionals looking for a place to socialize after work hours." Its rooftop on Washington Boulevard is the one space in this group with no announced successor in the reporting reviewed for this post.
The places that didn't move
While these four addresses changed, the rest of Harbor Point's dining list stayed mostly the same. The developer's retail and dining directory, updated in late September, lists these names among others:
- Sign of the Whale
- Tequila Escape, 845 Canal St.
- Prime, 78 Southfield Ave.
- Bareburger, 21 Harbor Point Road
- Patisserie Salzburg, 10 Harbor Point Road
- Corbo's South Side, 90 Washington Blvd.
- Third Place, 575 Pacific St.
- Harbor Point Organic, Proof Coffee, The Wheel and The Granola Bar
Prime sits on Southfield Avenue, the same street as the future Ocean 46. When Ocean 46 opens, that stretch will have two waterfront dinner options for steak and seafood within the same development.
The neighborhood these places serve has grown large. Hey Stamford's August announcement put Harbor Point at more than 4,000 residences and 34-plus shops and restaurants, with marinas, parks and a mile-long public boardwalk. Restaurant groups that already run dining rooms in Darien, Trumbull and downtown Stamford are betting long-term on that crowd.
The calendar is older than the restaurants
Several Harbor Point traditions have outlasted the restaurants that just turned over. The Christmas tree lighting is in its 16th year and the Thanksgiving 5K is in its 15th, so both started before Fortina opened its rooftop in 2015. The developer's events page lists three dates for the rest of 2026:
- The Great Pupkin Howl-O-Ween Festival, Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 to 4 p.m., hosted by Harbor Pets in Commons Park.
- 15th Annual Harbor Point Turkey Trot 5K Fun Run, Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, at 8 a.m.
- 16th Annual Harbor Point Christmas Tree Lighting, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., in Harbor Point Square near Bareburger and the other restaurants there.
The tree lighting is the first event where you'll be able to see the new lineup together. By early December, KIN Social's seasonal run may have ended or turned into whatever gets announced for 15 Harbor Point, and Ocean 46 may have set a date. Either way, the Square fills with neighbors who will walk past all four addresses on the way home.
Elsewhere in Stamford this month, Mill River Park's calendar has a Glow in the Dark Party on Oct. 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and a Silent Disco at the Carousel on Oct. 23 from 6 to 9 p.m. Stamford Downtown's Parade Spectacular returns Sunday, Nov. 22, from noon to 2 p.m., and the Giant Balloon Inflation Party runs the day before, 3 to 6 p.m., on Hoyt Street at Summer Street.
Who signs for what comes next
Two of the four spaces now have tenants from established local restaurant groups with long-term leases. One of them, 15 Harbor Point, is still waiting on its permanent concept. The Fortina rooftop is the open question. Whoever signs for it will be joining a waterfront where the newest neighbors drove over from Bank Street and from Darien and Trumbull.
We keep track of Harbor Point because a walk to dinner on the boardwalk matters when you're comparing homes in the South End. Thinking about what your place near the water is worth now that the waterfront's next chapter is taking shape? Talk with Fowler & Sakey and start your move with a free home valuation.