MOLINE-- Inside the Rock Island County Historical Society, Meredith Peterson looks through old newspaper clippings remembering the Captain’s Table.
“I’m kind of a river rat and I kind of enjoyed sitting by the river having dinner,” says Peterson, president of the Rock Island County Historical Society.
Originally, the sea food restaurant only opened during boating season, but shortly after it opened in 1974, it became a year-round restaurant.
A local gem, researchers described, as a sea food haven overlooking the Marquis Harbor boating marina.
Tuesday morning’s fire shut the Captain’s Table down, with damage so severe crews were forced to demolish the building.
"I think we lost a landmark…It was a little bit of a concert venue, it was a neighborhood, it was a river destination," says Paterson.
The restaurant changed hands multiple times through the years, but it was owned by Jim Sweet for about 20 years before selling it to Marquis Management in 2000.
Daid Sweet, son of the former owner says the restaurant is currently owned by American Marine, based in Dubuque, Iowa. The Captain’s Table is managed by a local business man from Bettendorf.
