A revived Desposito's holds on to its fish shack vibe even with new look, new menu

Locals who were around in the 1970s know that when they wanted hard-core, no-frills, perfectly cooked boiled shrimp, steamed crab, or steamed oysters, they could head to Highway 80 going to Tybee, turn left on a dirt road just east of the Thunderbolt Bridge, and creep down the sandy path that led past warehouses in need of paint and boats waiting for repairs, ending up at Desposito’s little cinder block fish shack.

Once inside, you placed your order at the bar from the very limited menu – usually just boiled shrimp, steamed crab or oysters, or deviled crab and got yourself a seat at the newspaper-lined table and waited. Your order came in a red plastic basket with small plastic cups of melted butter and a thin barbecue-like sauce for dipping. A sliver of kosher pickle, one package of Saltines, and a side cup of pasta salad were the typical sides. No one hovered around asking how your order was, or to see if you needed anything. You were pretty much on your own and that’s the way customers liked it. Dining at Desposito’s was as much about the shabby chic atmosphere and the quirky employees as it was about the food.

There was absolutely nothing like a night picking crab in foul weather at Desposito’s, where the busboy might take the time to show you how to back a blue crab and the rain might be dripping on your table through a little hole in the window facing.

Well, those days are gone.

Cheers!: Tired of too-sweet peppermint drinks? Try this cocktail at a Savannah hotel bar

Spread Cheer: Eat, drink, be merry and do some good at The Olde Pink House's Holiday Celebration

Rebuilding Desposito's brick by brick and dish by dish

Longtime owner David Boone closed Desposito’s sometime around 2017 and by 2020, the land was on the market, snapped up by Michelle Smith and her partner Jeff Notrica, who envisioned a blend of the old Desposito’s and the new. They enlisted the help of interior designer Patti Khrongold of Atlanta and architects Nathan Pollard of Raymod Engineering. John Lammons was the contractor.

“The renovation was a complete renovation, meaning everything had to be completely gutted and stripped from electric to walls ― everything,” Smith, the managing partner, explains. “Interior and exterior. We have literally six original boards in the restaurant. In addition, we had to completely redo and add a brand new septic tank and a whole new drain field as well as a grease trap, which had to be up to new state standards. We also expanded the kitchen and added on a new patio and outdoor bar area.”

To help create the menu, Smith and Notrica turned to longtime friend and chef Roberto Leoci, who had rented space from them when he operated his own Italian restaurant in Savannah, Loeoci’s Trattoria, which closed in 2016.

Leoci grew up in an Italian household, cooking from a very young age with his aunties. He studied at Scuola di Arte Culinaria Cordon Bleu Firenze in Florence, Italy, launching a 30-year career in food that has included stints at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne, as well as Mercanto Italiano at Twelve Oaks and Pacci Italian Kitchen & Bar in the Kimpton Hotel in Savannah. He also has cooked for high-profile clients living at Indian Creek Island and Fisher Island in Florida.

Leoci eventually returned to “the beautiful city” of Savannah. “I knew it would be the best place for my family of six to call home,” he says. He wants to continue restaurant consulting and to re-establish his Flavor of Georgia prize-winning, handcrafted line of sauces and jams.

Desposito's menu mixes old favorites with new twists

With his input, the resulting Desposito’s menu contains some new twists.

“The Low Country Boil has a new twist from Conecuh Sausage,” Smith explains. “It’s a sausage that’s been a favorite of mine for years. It’s just a unique flavor with lots of garlic. The sausage adds so much additional flavor to the dish. We also offer the Conecuh Sausage in a Sausage Dog, plain or loaded, which has become a local favorite.”

“We have a few things that we purchased the original recipes for such as local favorite deviled crab, pasta salad, potato salad, Desposito’s Chili, and Dave’s Sauce,” the thin, vinegary sauce used for dipping. The addition of the grease trap allowed Desposito’s to add fried foods. Also new to the menu are Homemade Old Bay Chips and Loaded Crabby Old Bay Chips ― a plate overloaded with cheese, bacon, jalapenos, and crumbled deviled crab. From Smith’s personal files, the restaurant serves house chicken egg rolls, a childhood favorite from Smith’s mother, along with her mother’s peach cobbler.

“So, our menu is a good mix of past menu and new menu items that are true to my history, also,” Smith says.

What’s not on the menu? Steamed oysters! Friday oysters are offered only as a special.

“Our original menu, we had planned on having buckets of oysters steamed. However, we honestly don’t have the space in the coolers to hold enough to keep up. Our plan is to add a third walk-in as soon as we can and then we will have them all the time.”

Smith and Desposito’s former owner, Boone, spent many hours going through pictures, stories and recipes to keep the nostalgia of the original restaurant, Smith says.

Desposito’s began as Walton’s Seafood, a market that catered to locals and Tybee Island visitors. The Thunderbolt property was purchased in the 1960s by dockworker Carlos Deposito and turned into a restaurant. He married Walton Boone, mother of five, including son David. After Carlos died in 1982, David and his mother continued to operate Desposito’s, staying true to the casual, local, no-frills restaurant Carlos had created.

“I love history in so many ways, and I’ve learned how much Savannah loved Desposito’s,” Smith says. “Now, we’re bringing all of that same feeling back for so many.”

Since opening in August, Smith has been flooded with customer feedback.

“We have had some really great customers,” Smith says, adding that there are lots of locals from the islands ― Wilmington, Skidaway and Isle of Hope. “I love all the customers in the 60 to 90-year-old  age frame that visited Desposito’s as a child and have fond memories of the old. Those have been so kind, sharing their stories and even commenting how they love that we incorporated so much of the past into the new place.”

What they like best, Smith says, is the staff.

“Honestly, I take pride in that more than anything. It is so hard to find good customer service anywhere anymore, and when I started this, I said from day one that was my goal. They, of course, love the atmosphere and food. I feel like I hear a different favorite from every guest daily.”

Desposito’s, located at 3501 Macceo Drive in Thunderbolt, is open Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., and Friday-Sunday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4 to 11 p.m. The restaurant does not take reservations. Best night to visit without a wait are Mondays and Tuesdays.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Past and present blend seamlessly at Desposito's in Thunderbolt