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More than 20 years ago, Roller designed the Sea Trawler Restaurant, registered the name and the put in the first pilings for the pagoda-shaped building at Buckingham Landing near the bridges to Hilton Head Island.
Construction of the restaurant itself started in 2006, but a series of legal skirmishes with Beaufort County slowed work. The restaurant was completed in June 2008 and has stood idle since then.
With the legal problems finally behind him, Roller said the restaurant will open on Memorial Day. He's hired a chef, a manager and about 80 staffers, he said.
While showing the elevated, circular dining room overlooking Mackays Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway, Roller said he never doubted his family would eventually finish the project.
"We knew it was supposed to be here," he said.
To maximize views and make the restaurant fit its lot, two circular structures are connected by a central hallway. Visitors walk through the entrance and past the bar to reach the main dining room.
Roller commissioned a Savannah artist to paint murals of oyster beds and shrimp boats on the interior wall; bought countertops and tables made of oyster shells, sand and glass from a Yemassee firm; and ordered custom cabinetry from a Bluffton company.
An upstairs balcony will provide overflow seating. Up a spiral staircase from the balcony is a small cupola with 360-degree views. Roller's wife, Jenny, said the family hasn't determined how it will be used.
The Rollers plan to start building docks next week to allow boaters to stop and eat.
Manager Tom Finnan said the restaurant will offer reasonably priced food in a family atmosphere. Chef Stephen Carmines said he wants to use as much fresh, local seafood and produce as possible.
Many members of the Roller family will help run the restaurant. Jenny Roller said they are happy to have finished the job they started so long ago.
"We are looking forward to the enjoyment of it all, for us and the community," she said. "It's just a wonderful place."
