About
Imagine the ultimate seaside getaway—water lapping up against the shore, boats bobbing in the harbor, a cool breeze dancing through the tall grass…
The vision wouldn’t be complete without a restaurant that captures the spirit of the sea: an outdoor stone patio where food, drink, and the company of friends and family can be savored in the open air, an indoor dining room serving the freshest of modern organic cuisine and dual event halls perfect for any celebration, making it heaven on the Hudson.
Founded in 2009 by Executive Chef-Owner Chris Siversen in a grand building in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, Maritime Parc provides a unique and wholesome dining experience with panoramic views of the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan skyline. All this is only a seven-minute ferry ride from downtown NYC, fusing practicality with elegance.
Its design evokes a modern summer seaside pavilion, with elegant spaces that flow seamlessly from indoors to out, creating a welcoming oasis in which to linger and lounge. Maritime Parc is also home to two stunning private event spaces perfect for weddings, social celebrations and corporate events of all sizes.
Chef Siversen turns out seasonally inspired menus that spin local, organic, and sustainable ingredients into crowd-pleasing dishes. After studying at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, he cooked at such landmark restaurants as Alison on Dominick Street and the ‘21’ Club and ran the kitchen at Pamela Morgan’s Flavors. Siversen recently spent almost ten years creating and overseeing menus for the Glazier Group’s successful catering businesses, such as Twenty Four Fifth and Bridgewaters in Manhattan, and the Westminster Hotel in Livingston, New Jersey.
Along the way, Siversen has also cooked for Martha Stewart and Steven Spielberg, for the runway shows of Versace, Armani, Chanel, and Marc Jacobs, and for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
A Chef’s Dream Come True
Can a restaurant be destiny? Can a chef and a location be meant for each other?
In the case of Chris Siversen and Maritime Parc, the answer is an emphatic “yes.”
Siversen discovered the home of this one-of-a-kind restaurant and private-event destination in fall 2009, after a long day on the job for a New York City-based restaurant and catering company. Stressed out and exhausted after a meeting in Livingston, New Jersey, rather than return to Manhattan, he took a detour into Liberty State Park. “I’d never been to the park,” Siversen recalls today. He found the setting transporting, the wide open spaces and generous views of the Hudson River melting his troubles away.
As he unwound, a sign advertising waterfront property for rent caught his eye, leading him to a mammoth octagonal building overlooking the Liberty Landing Marina, with an awe-inspiring view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and lower Manhattan in the background. Venturing inside, Siversen discovered grand staircases, vaulted wood ceilings, and wraparound terraces boasting even greater vantage points from which to gaze out on the landmarks of the Hudson and New York City.
“I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming,” he says. “How could it be that nobody had gobbled up this space?”
In Siversen’s imagination, the location—originally intended as an office complex—instantly morphed into a spectacular restaurant and special-event hall fashioned after the grand destinations of yesteryear. He envisioned a modern take on a coastal seafood restaurant, one that offered something for everybody—a restaurant and raw bar inside, a bar menu for casual outdoor dining, a private event space with customized menus for every occasion… even “vessel service” (“room service” for boats docked in the marina).
In less than a year, in partnership with Maritime Parc CEO Marc Haskell, Siversen turned his vision into a reality: Maritime Parc.