At a time when scrolling has become synonymous with dining out, Shannon Sturz has a different idea of what a restaurant could be: a place where people put their phones away and talk to the person sitting across from them.
The philosophy crystallized for Shannon years ago while he was working as a chef at another restaurant. Looking out from the kitchen at a table of 12, he did a quick tally.
“I counted eight people on their phones,” he recalls. “They were all just scrolling. I remember thinking, ‘Guys, you’re here together! Talk to each other!’”
It’s old-school hospitality, and that’s precisely the point.
The Mariner Tavern reopened this past August after extensive renovations, with owner and executive chef Shannon Sturz at the helm. But for Shannon, the restaurant is about more than a fresh start. His connection to the Mariner goes back to childhood, when he dined there with his family after ski trips and hockey games.
“I remember feeling so welcomed here,” Shannon says. “And when I thought about opening a restaurant, I wanted it to feel homey—comfortable and familiar—in a town where we could really build a community.”
Shannon grew up just over the border in Pound Ridge. His family has roots in the food business—he first got a taste of it sampling cookies his dad brought home from Linden’s Cookies. While attending Fairfield University, he worked as a caterer and bartender and found himself drawn to the restaurant business.
Shannon worked in finance until his mid-20s, when sitting at a desk became untenable.
“I loved the flow of service and what hospitality was all about,” he says. “But I never thought it was a viable career long-term. At some point, I felt a pull toward working with my hands. I felt like I belonged out on the floor, talking to people, cooking. So I started working in kitchens, doing dishes, prepping food. And I slowly switched careers.”
Finance to food prep was only the first leap. Food prep to restaurateur was another beast altogether.
Shannon credits his mentor, a chef he volunteered for on weekends, with steering him in the right direction—and giving him some tough advice about what it would take to become a restaurateur.
“I asked him what it would take to open my own restaurant,” Shannon says. “He told me, ‘You’re going to have to leave your current job, go make $18 an hour at a restaurant, and grind it out.’”
Two years later, Shannon enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park. He went on to work for Jean-Georges, one of the world’s most famous chefs, eventually becoming sous chef at The Inn at Pound Ridge. Most recently, Shannon was recruited to open and serve as executive chef at Seamore’s in Darien—a sustainable seafood restaurant known for its simple, beautifully plated fish.
By then, the next step felt obvious: It was time to find a restaurant of his own.
The Ancient Mariner first opened in Ridgefield Shopping Center on Main Street in 1974, under its original owners, Tom Quinn and Gerry Geraerdts. Jessica Wilmot began working there a couple of years later and purchased it in 1992. She sold it to Shannon in 2025, making him just the third owner in the restaurant’s 52-year history.
“I’m very aware that I’ve taken on a beloved, established brand,” Shannon says. “The Ancient Mariner was a Ridgefield staple. It’s my goal to shepherd this restaurant into its next chapter.”
Shannon has been thoughtful about paying homage to The Ancient Mariner. While giving the space a fresh look, he’s carefully preserved some of the details that longtime Mariner regulars know and love—the signature sconces still line the far wall, the bourbon barrels remain above the bar, and the large ship’s wheel holds a prominent position.
Working with renowned design atelier Christian P. Árkay-Leliever—a Connecticut-based designer whose restaurant projects include Elm in New Canaan and Esh Mediterranean in Fairfield, among others in the Northeast—Shannon reimagined the space. It’s as if he took his childhood memories of driving up to Litchfield County for a day of skiing and melded them with his love of seafood. Fittingly, his first job as a sous chef was ordering the fish.
“Within the restaurant, there are two themes,” Shannon says. “There’s the coast—the nautical, the ocean, the seafood. But there’s also my core, which is a lodge in the mountains. It’s cozy, like you’re in a ski lodge in Jackson Hole.”
The layout, with the bar to the right and the dining area to the left, remains the same, but everything within it is new. Honeyed, wide-plank floors now run throughout, tying the two halves together. The bar itself was made smaller but gained seating overall, thanks to a more efficient layout. Its shiplapped walls were painted a deep hunter green, topped by a black ceiling with copper-pressed tin overhead and penny tiling underfoot.
The dining side, by contrast, is lighter and brighter, with white walls and a natural-wood ceiling. It’s anchored by a long gray-and-cream plaid banquette with pops of brown that runs along the far wall. Tufted cognac booths opposite match the leather-cushioned chairs at the tables between them. The result is a breath of fresh air. (The carpet is no more.)
The bathrooms are a sight to behold, with shiplapped walls, gold accents, and distinctive nautical mirrors sourced by Christian.
In the back of the house, the kitchen has tripled in size, with a window letting diners catch glimpses of the action. Just above the window is a special addition—a giant wooden fish, something Shannon found at a recycling center by pure kismet.
“We wanted it to feel like everyone’s here together,” Shannon says. “I want people to get to know us—to know me and my sous chef, Rocky, to glimpse through the window behind the scenes.”
Eventually, Shannon would like to add an affordable, approachable tasting menu and weekend brunch, along with an expanded catering menu and private events. He also hopes local businesses will make the restaurant a go-to for working lunches.
The Mariner Tavern’s menu is designed to be accessible, and Shannon wants guests to feel just as comfortable showing up in whatever they’re wearing. The menu is also condensed and specific—he isn’t a believer in long menus, which he says only create confusion.
Staple Mariner items remain, namely the burger, along with variations on wings and nachos. But Shannon says the broader menu will look a little different from when he first took over last year. Warmer months will feature fresh fish sourced from the Fulton Fish Market in Hunts Point, New York.
“I know where all of the fish comes from—whether it was caught in Gloucester, Montauk, or Canada,” Shannon says. “I hope customers will appreciate that detail—knowing where their food is coming from. I know I do.”
The Mariner Tavern sources vegetables and meat with the same rigor, buying local whenever possible, from Snow Hill Farm in North Salem to Millstone Farm in Wilton. Whatever’s fresh and seasonal shapes the menu.
Once the seasons turn toward fall and winter, customers can expect heartier dishes to be rotated in, including duck confit, pasta with Bolognese, and meat and game dishes.
Freshly shucked oysters won’t be an every-night mainstay, but they’ll be in heavy rotation. Shannon is also looking forward to adding popovers to the menu.
“Popovers are the first thing our family ever made together,” he says. “They’re a delicious hollow roll made of eggs, flour, and butter—airy, light, and really, really good. We still make them as a family to this day.”
Family is woven into both Shannon’s life and the restaurant. His wife, Winter, handles the restaurant’s marketing and has been a source of constant support since he decided to leave finance to pursue his passion.
“She had my back when I told her I wanted to switch careers,” Shannon says. “Now, I feel like she might have a different take on my career change if you asked her today,” he adds, laughing. “But she has been incredible.”
Their daughters, Isla and Hayden, ages 8 and 4, are just as excited about their dad owning a restaurant. On his workdays, they love hanging out with Jess Schroeder and Michelle Goodell, bartenders who stayed on from The Ancient Mariner.
Shannon hopes The Mariner Tavern will be a place where people leave their phones in their pockets. There are five flat-screen TVs that will be tuned to whatever big game is on, and there will be crayons for little ones. But overall, creating a space where people talk to one another remains central to what he’s building.
“We cook like you’re family, so you feel like you’re home,” Shannon says. “I hope to keep bringing in the guests who’ve always enjoyed eating here, while attracting new ones who’ve never been. At the end of the day, it’s about the food, the service, and the friends you’re enjoying it with.”
The Mariner Tavern is located at 451 Main Street. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Visit themarinerct.com to learn more and follow @TheMarinerTavern on Instagram.
“We cook like you’re family, so you feel like you’re home. At the end of the day, it’s about the food, the service, and the friends you’re enjoying it with.”