New Bait Shop Operator Selected
- Mamaroneck Observer
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
by Kathy Savolt -
With the current license for the bait shop in Harbor Island Park expiring in April, the Village released a Request for Proposals on February 2nd and received two proposals. One was from the current licensee, The Shack HI, Inc. and the other from Jack’s Bait & Tackle, Inc. located on City Island.
A Last Ditch Plea
At the March 23, 2026, Board of Trustees meeting, it appeared the BOT was ready to act on the staff recommendation that Jack’s be selected (see HERE). However, Adam Mann, local resident and owner of The Shack HI, Inc., spoke at public comment period of the meeting and attempted to sweeten his original proposal, increasing the percentage of the Village’s revenue share. (See original proposal HERE.)
Trustee Ellen Silver inquired about inviting the other proposer, Jack’s Bait & Tackle, to address the BOT at their scheduled Budget meeting on March 26 (see HERE). Joshua DeCuffa, a manager at Jack’s, presented their original proposal to the Board of Trustees. He explained the two potential additional services – five low powered skiffs for rent and a charter boat for harbor tours – to the BOT. He also stressed that Jack’s has been in business for 81 years as it was started by his grandfather and is still owned and operated by the family.
There was a significant difference in the revenue to the Village between the two proposers with Jack’s providing the highest revenue percentage.
Decision is Reached
After a discussion in Executive Session which allows the BOT to candidly speak about negotiations, the BOT returned to the public meeting and voted 5-0 to award the contract to Jack’s Bait & Tackle.
Since that vote there has been significant chatter on social media lamenting the decision and calling the BOT “heartless.” Sometimes there can be some facts that would be inappropriate to share with the public and the BOT’s primary fiduciary responsibility is to the taxpayers, not a vendor or single resident.
Apparently, Mann had not lived up to the terms of the license agreement at times during the six years of his tenure. Also, there were customer complaints that the bait shop didn’t open on time.
