The demolition of Bert’s, the abandoned restaurant at the beginning of Plymouth Beach, finally got under way Tuesday as a backhoe began ripping the structure apart. The razing came after months of delays.
“It’s been an eyesore,” said Mike Shine, who owns a nearby cottage and used to have dinner at Bert’s in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, as he watched the destruction. “My wife saw a kid on the roof a couple of months ago and she called the police so the kid didn’t get hurt. It’s a danger.”
Jason Silva, the town’s director of inspectional services, anticipated that demolition would take several days.
The building has been vacant for nearly 13 years. It’s razing began more than four months after the town ordered the eyesore torn down with the understanding that its owners – the heirs of George Demeter, a Boston real estate developer and banker who bought it in 1994 – had 60 days to clear the blighted site.
On Aug. 18, the town approved a zoning permit to demolish the building. On Aug. 25, the owners applied for a permit to take down the structure. That permit was issued on Sept. 3.
“I’m glad it’s down,” said Richard Serkey, a Town Meeting member who persistently pressed the Select Board to push for demolition since last year.
Michael Psikarakis, one of the owners, declined to comment on the demolition or his family’s plans for the site.
In August, Psikarakis said the family for years had been talking to town officials about its plans for the site, which culminated in a 2024 proposal for a raised four-story building with a restaurant, lounge, and decks.
That proposal has been scaled down, Psikarakis said in August. He declined to provide details then but said the project would include a restaurant and that planning was only in the initial stage.
Shine, the neighbor, said that whatever is built on the site would have to be elevated. Over the years, the building has been periodically ravaged by storms blowing off Cape Cod Bay.
“It would be very infrequent the road would flood out here,” he said. “Now, it occurs a lot.”
Watch a video of Tuesday’s demolition work here.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.