Hugo’s closes on Hilton Head Island, and a new restaurant is opening in its place

Hugo’s Seafood & Steakhouse on Hilton Head Island has shut its doors, but the restaurant’s legacy will live on.

Pisces Seafood, Sushi & Steak will open in the former Hugo’s building at 841 William Hilton Parkway in mid-January, according to the future eatery’s general manager, Glenn Bradley.

Sergio Zumaya, the former head chef at Hugo’s, is one of the new co-owners.

Bradley said Pisces management officially took over Hugo’s on Dec. 1 from owner Hugo Arrieta, who has retired after 39 years as a chef on Hilton Head.

The team is in the process of renovating the restaurant from floor to ceiling. The location needed some refreshing and will be broken down into three different sections inside, he said.

“We’re actually building a sushi bar in one section of our restaurant,” Bradley said.

According to a post on Hugo’s website, Arrieta and his family have decided to exclusively focus on their organization, Lambs for Life, which supports children with cancer.

Arrieta’s son Brandon said in an email the family is dedicating the rest of their lives and resources to the advocacy group founded by his 10-year-old son, Alex, who died from an aggressive cancer in April.

The name Pisces comes from a restaurant of the same name within the Mariners Inn, now the Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort, that was popular among locals when Bradley first came to the island. He said the restaurant’s main concept was seafood, but Zumaya wanted to add sushi to the steak and fish focus.

“We might have the ability to hit all angles. That’s our goal, and that’s what we’re going to be doing,” he said.

Bradley said the goal for the restaurant is to run nightly specials of local, fresh seafood and possibly offer lunch in the future. Dinner will be served from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with a happy hour and early bird special from 4 to 6 p.m.

Fans of Hugo’s flambe desserts will be happy to hear that they will still be available at Pisces.

“It was always a big draw at Hugo’s,” Bradley said.

The Pisces staff hope to make a great first impression for their opening, since most customers are likely to be locals at this time of the year, he said.

“We’re really going to just focus on ... great food and great service,” he said.

Details: 843-379-0576

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Hugo’s closes on Hilton Head Island, and a new restaurant is opening in its place."