For over 61 years, the Spinnaker has been a dining destination for generations of locals and visitors alike. An iconic restaurant perched on piers over the San Francisco Bay on the Sausalito waterfront, it all started in 1960 when Bill McDonnell and California State Senator Gene McAteer built the Spinnaker on a spit of land in Sausalito called Shell Beach. The beach was so called because oyster shells from all the local restaurants were deposited there.

The Spinnaker is one of the rare family owned and operated restaurants in the Bay Area with Bill’s
son Tim McDonnell at the helm and Jeff Scharosch, a partner and the general manager who has been with the company for 27+ years. The Cliff House in Folsom, CA is also owned and operated by the family.