.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Soon, Waterfront Seafood Market restaurant actually may live up to its name, as its owners prepare to open a second Waterfront on the lake between Outback Steakhouse and Chips restaurant in Ankeny’s Metro North II Business Park.

Shawn Hanke and Jennifer Haus, son and daughter of Ted Hanke, owner of the original Waterfront in West Des Moines, will be owners of the new location, which could open as early as May 2008. With new décor and features, the new owners hope to attract the city’s younger population and residents from nearby towns.

“We’re excited about the whole thing, just finally being able to be on the water,” said Shawn Hanke. “We’ve been a waterfront without water.”

The decision to open another Waterfront comes as Bonefish Grill has opened a seafood restaurant in West Glen Town Center, a couple of sushi restaurants have opened downtown and Splash Seafood Bar & Grill is looking at adding a seafood market. But the Waterfront owners say these changes have actually helped their business grow in recent years.

“The more sushi bars that opened up, the busier our sushi got,” Shawn said. “We thought Bonefish could hurt us; it actually gave us another boost in sales. It seems people were talking about [sushi and seafood] more.”

The new restaurant will encompass many features that the older restaurant couldn’t as it has seeped into available space in the Clocktower Square strip center over the past 20 years. The new building, already under construction, will have a patio, a wall of windows overlooking the lake and a private room for business meetings and parties, an amenity the owners added after having to turn down several groups due to lack of space at the current location. The sushi bar will be more of a focal point, and the dining rooms will be larger, allowing tables to be more spread out.

The Ankeny location will have a smaller seafood market, with the ability to order fish ahead of time and have it delivered from the West Des Moines restaurant. The décor will focus on earth tones, with a fireplace in the bar and a waterfall to aerate the lobster ponds. The menus will be the same.

Though the owners say opening a second restaurant is a big step for the family-run business, it is part of Waterfront’s natural growth since its inception in February 1984.

The concept of opening a fish market began as an idea from Shawn Hanke’s grandfather and evolved as Shawn began researching the topic and bringing fish back from Louisiana. He tried to spark his father’s interest by taking him on a buying trip to Texas and seafood show in Chicago. At the time, Shawn also wanted to add a restaurant but his father agreed to just do the fish market, with customers having the option of ordering fried fish from the counter. “He wouldn’t let me have a grill,” Shawn said.

The market started in the Clocktower Square strip center, which at the time was the outskirts of West Des Moines, and within a couple of months, the owners had to set up more folding tables to accommodate the large crowds. When the clock shop next door went out of business, Waterfront moved into their space. The restaurant has continued to outgrow its space, with a waiting list every night.

“We feel we’ve lost a lot of our early clientele because we’re on a wait every night,” Shawn said. “If it does take a little bit away from here (by opening a second location), we hope that maybe that will give some of our customers we might have lost because of our waits an opportunity to come back.”

Jennifer and Shawn chose Ankeny because so many restaurants have been opening up in the western suburbs. But their father is adamant that someone from the family be at the original location during business hours. Already Haus’ husband, Earl, works full time at Waterfront and her daughter, Jessalyn Todd, helps manage the business. Shawn’s older son, Shawn Jr., will cook at the Ankeny location and his other son, Nick, is learning the sushi business. Shawn’s wife, Jo Beth, could also get more involved.

“We figure between all of us shifting back and forth that there should be able to be family,” Jennifer said.