After being vacant for close to two decades, the South Hero Causeway location of the former Sand Bar Inn will be a restaurant once again. The Sand Bar Restaurant is scheduled to open mid-May in a new two-story building with a large second-floor deck that offers sweeping views of Lake Champlain, co-owner Pierre LeBlanc said.
The 75-seat restaurant will be open daily year-round, serving what LeBlanc described as “familiar food with a twist,” such as burgers, steaks and salmon. Dinner is likely to be the first meal on offer, followed by lunch and probably brunch. The venue also has a 50-seat private function room.
The president and CEO of Engleberth Construction in Colchester, LeBlanc purchased the 4.7-acre South Hero property at 59 Route 2 in October 2021. The prime lakeside spot had hosted lodging since 1900 and operated as the Sand Bar Inn from 1923 to 2007.
LeBlanc removed the derelict motel, designed a restaurant building and sought an operator. None surfaced, so LeBlanc, his wife, Donna, and their son, Kyle, and daughter, Nicole Hier, decided to open the restaurant themselves. They have hired seasoned Champlain Islands hospitality professional Rick Bellows as their general manager.
Pierre and Donna have lived in Grand Isle for more than two decades and missed the Sand Bar Inn restaurant, Pierre said. “When they tore it down, we were all saddened — the whole community was,” he recalled. “I kept driving by and saying, ‘Man, somebody’s got to buy that property.’ I don’t know why the heck it had to be me,” he added with a chuckle.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2025.
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