With warmer weather approaching, activity along the Ironton riverfront increases: Boats are put into and taken out of the river, people visit the floodwall murals and young folks looking for something to do stroll along the Center Street Boat Landing.

Some local business people promise the riverfront will become a little busier in the coming months. The Fuzzy Duck, a new restaurant, is expected to open this week in the former Dockside Grill location.

Workers spent last week cleaning and preparing for opening day.

Suzy Bryant of

Ironton will manage the restaurant for owners Bridge View, Inc.

“Wednesday is what we’re shooting for,” Bryant said. “If we don’t open Wednesday, we’ll open Thursday. It’s going to be a nice, family restaurant.

The restaurant will offer appetizers and sandwiches but Bryant said the menu will include some special offerings as well.

“The big things are the catfish dinners and the steak dinners,” she said. “And we’ll have fajitas, too.”

The restaurant will employ 18 people, Bryant said. It will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to

9 p.m. Sunday. The bar will be open 10 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., unless traffic is slow. Like previous occupants, The Fuzzy Duck will make use of the large deck that overlooks the riverfront.

Bryant said a full-scale marina will open in June, allowing boaters to pull up and find food and drink.

Bryant said working on the riverfront is a wonderful plus to the job.

“It is awesome, just beautiful,” she said. “I got to see a barge load and unload people the other day and I had not seen anything like that. It just pulled up and people got off. I’ve never seen a barge up close like that before.”

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map of Lawrence County and finds a story where it hits.