After Wahlburgers: What's Next for Dining at Hingham Shipyard?

The burger place that started a national chain and a reality TV show served its last meal in Hingham on Wednesday, Sept. 30. A few doors down, Alma Nove, Trident Galley & Raw Bar and The Beth Kitchen & Bar are all still taking reservations. The ferry still stops at Hewitts Cove on the MBTA's October timetable. Hingham Shipyard has lost a restaurant, but most of it hasn't changed.

The change this fall is concentrated at a single address, 19 Shipyard Drive. That address has also been at the center of one of the longest-running "coming soon" stories on the South Shore. Meanwhile, the newest food in this part of town has opened across Lincoln Street and over at Derby Street.

One address, three restaurant stories

19 Shipyard Drive has come up in local news more than any other address at The Launch over the past eighteen months. Here's the sequence as the sources report it:

• April 2025: The Hingham Anchor reported that Salty Days Fish Co. would take over 19 Shipyard Drive, then home to Boathouse Bistro, and that Boathouse Bistro would move to the Nantasket Beach Resort in Hull.
• July 2025: Boathouse Bistro was open at Nantasket by July 9, 2025. Today it operates as Boathouse Bistro Beachfront at 45 Hull Shore Drive.
• Sept. 30, 2026: Wahlburgers closed. The Patriot Ledger's coverage links the restaurant to 19 Shipyard Drive.

So the same street address belongs to the old Boathouse Bistro site, the planned Salty Days and the Wahlburgers that just closed. None of the sources give suite numbers. They don't settle whether this is one storefront or several units under one address. If you've wondered whether these stories are about the same building, the public record doesn't answer it yet.

What we know about the new lease

Wahlburgers said in a Facebook post that its lease at the Shipyard was "coming to an end." It also called Hingham "the original Wahlburgers location" that "will always hold a special place in our story." The company said it's looking for a new home in the Boston area and hopes to share more soon.

The more useful detail came from the landlord. Rachael Diharce, vice president of retail leasing for Samuels Associates, which manages The Launch, told the Patriot Ledger that a new full-service restaurant has signed a lease and will be announced soon.

That's all that's public as of Oct. 4. There's no name, no cuisine and no opening date. "Full-service" is the only description, which points to sit-down dining over counter service. It's natural to guess the new tenant is Salty Days, since Salty Days has long been tied to the same address. No source makes that connection, though, so this post doesn't either.

Where the Salty Days plan stands

The Salty Days plan explains why so many people in town are waiting for a seafood and sushi restaurant at the Shipyard. It's also why the dates deserve care.

Salty Days began as a seafood market in Hingham in October 2020. In 2022 it opened a sit-down restaurant on Main Street in Cohasset, and in 2023 it closed the Hingham fish shop to focus on Cohasset. Owner and founder Sean McDaniel described the Shipyard plan to the Hingham Anchor as a return to the town where the business started. The Anchor called the new site "a homecoming."

The announced plan was built around the ferry. McDaniel said commuters could order dinner online from the boat and pick it up on the walk home. The plan also called for a full bar with about 10 seats, a larger outdoor patio, and lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Here is how the dates have shifted:

The November vote needs careful reading. In the Select Board minutes, the board accepted the withdrawal of a liquor license application. The minutes don't say the restaurant plan was cancelled. Three months later, What Now Boston was still describing the Shipyard location as coming in late 2026. I found nothing confirming it has opened. The fairest summary is announced, delayed and with no confirmed opening date.

Salty Days has kept expanding in the meantime, just not here first. In January 2026 the Marshfield Select Board approved licenses for a location at 1899 Ocean St. in The Shops at Oceans Gate, in the former Ocean House Coastal Grille space. Summer 2026 was the planned opening. The company's site now lists Cohasset and Marshfield with addresses and hours. If you want the Salty Days menu this fall, you can drive to either one while you wait.

The waterfront row hasn't moved

All of the change is happening at 19 Shipyard Drive. The rest of the Shipyard's dining and evening options are open on their own sites as of this fall:

1. Alma Nove, 22 Shipyard Drive. An upscale Italian restaurant, also owned by the Wahlbergs, so the family is still at the Shipyard after the burger place closed. Menus and reservations are on its site.
2. Trident Galley & Raw Bar, 23 Shipyard Drive, with current hours on its site.
3. The Beth Kitchen & Bar, with patio dining and a private dining room overlooking the Hingham Shipyard Marinas.
4. Patriot Cinemas, 25 Shipyard Drive, still posting showtimes for dinner-and-a-movie nights.
5. The Hingham ferry at Hewitts Cove, which appears on the MBTA's October 2026 Hingham/Hull timetable.

The Launch's own calendar has gone quiet for the season. Its events page lists the 2026 summer concert series through Sept. 4 and nothing for October through December. Until the new tenant is announced, the restaurants above are where to find a fall evening at the Shipyard.

The newest food opened just outside The Launch

The two newest places in this part of Hingham both opened elsewhere.

Pokémoto opened in June 2026 at 400 Lincoln St. in Lincoln Plaza, the former Vacuum House location across from the Shipyard. It serves customizable poké bowls, wraps, salads and boba teas. The owners are Hingham residents Joanna and Abi Sood. Joanna grew up in town, and many local families know Abi from coaching Hingham Youth Field Hockey. Salty Days built its first Hingham following on poke bowls, and its planned Shipyard location was last described in February 2026 as slated for late 2026. For now, the poké that's confirmed open in this corner of town is across the street.

Union Square Donuts opened its first South Shore shop on Sept. 2, 2026, at 94 Derby Street, next to Crate & Barrel at Derby Street Shops. Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The fall menu runs to an Apple Cider Cake Donut and a Pumpkin Spice Latte Donut, plus a Fluffernutter Latte and housemade Hot Mulled Apple Cider if you'd rather drink your autumn. The Somerville-based shop also takes advance orders for catering and custom donuts. Co-founder Noah Danoff said the team couldn't wait "to meet our new neighbors."

What to watch for

The next real news from the Shipyard will be the name behind the 19 Shipyard Drive lease. If the new tenant serves alcohol, a license application will most likely go before the Hingham Select Board. That's how Salty Days' plans first appeared in the public record in July 2025. Watch the board's agendas and the Hingham Anchor this fall. Either is likely to name the restaurant before a sign goes up.

I'll be watching that storefront along with everyone else who walks past it from the ferry. If you're in Hingham and wondering what changes at the Shipyard mean for your own plans, from a dinner reservation to a home near the water, William Tierney is glad to share what I'm hearing around town. Let's Connect.