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As part of our new nostalgia features, we look back 10 years to recall a favourite staple in the Bay
Marcaris in 2014 before closure. Image: Graham Wheatley
Reporter:
Ella Woszczyk
30 Nov 2024 12:00 PM
Jack’s Waterfront, at 17 Victoria Parade, Torquay, has been in operation since 2014. Before that, the site was home to Macaris Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlour, a beloved establishment that had served the community since 1958.
In its business profile,Macarisproudly described itself as “Torquay’s only Italian restaurant pizzeria with an authentic Italian stone pizza oven.”
In a Facebook post by Graham Wheatley in the group Undiscovered Torbay, many shared their fond memories of the Italian eatery, which has since been replaced by the American-themed diner.
Recalling the former restaurant’s owners, Dave Mann said: “Really miss Andrew and Emilia... it was a lovely place; the pizza oven was great. If I recall correctly, Andrew had the oven bricks sent over from Italy. They had a half-display Vespa inside, and Emilia had a Fiat 500 (old style) parked around the side.”
Diana Coles added: “We used to keep our dinner money and pretend we were having home dinners and sneak off down toMacarisa couple of times a week to drink coffee and meet boys from the boys' grammar school.”
Another nostalgic local, Margaret Hall, reminisced: “MyMacarismemories are from the mid-70s. I loved the coffee in a glass with a silver holder. As Torquay United fans, it was great to see all of the old photos, especially of the goalkeeper Terry (?) watering the goal mouth with a can during the water shortage! We loved to sit in the front windows and watch the world go by. Oh, and giggle at the tourist’s reactions to the automatic door.”
Above: Jack's Waterfront restaurant 2024
The restaurant appeared to be a favourite among both residents and visitors, with many people recalling how they made it a point to visitMacarisduring their holidays.
Perry Brown said: “I lovedMacaris—I went there as often as possible when on holiday in Torquay. I later passed that love onto my family. Totally gutted when it closed. Torquay lost something for me when that happened.”
A seemingly unanimous agreement is that the restaurant served “the best ice cream ever” and some particularly “glorious” knickerbocker glories.
According to Graham Wheatley, before becomingMacaris, the building was home to Webber’s Sports Ltd., which had operated there since the 1930s.
Turning back the clock even further, we find the building and decorating business, E.P. Bovey & Son.
Graham writes: “It was Bovey & Son who built the Mallock Clock Tower, completed in 1902—at a cost of £900—on Victoria Parade, Torquay. Some 60 designs had been submitted for consideration.”
Inching into the nineteenth century, the site was home to C.J. Bocking’s Pianoforte Saloon & Music Library in the late 1860s until the 1870s.
In the mid to late nineteenth century, shipbuilder John Harvey operated his upstairs lodgings, which were flanked on either side by lodging houses run by Mrs Elizabeth Godfrey.
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