Cap'n Flint's

Overview

Cap'n Flint's was one of those Noyo Harbor places that did not survive in memory because it was fancy. It survived because it nailed exactly what it was supposed to be: a harbor restaurant with good food, water views, local personality, and a setting that felt unmistakably Fort Bragg.

Tucked beneath the Noyo Bridge at 32250 N. Harbor Drive, the shingle-sided building sits right in the working harbor. Boats coming and going, gulls, damp docks, fishing gear, traffic overhead, salt air and diesel were all part of the experience. Cap'n Flint's did not simply overlook Noyo Harbor. It felt like it belonged to it.

Location

Cap'n Flint's stood at 32250 N. Harbor Drive in Fort Bragg, beneath the Noyo Bridge and right in the middle of the working Noyo Harbor waterfront.

The setting was half the experience. Window tables looked out on boats, docks and harbor traffic, and the building felt like part of the harbor rather than something placed beside it.

History

Real estate information for the property gives the building a 1957 construction date. Community memories carry the restaurant story into the late 1960s, when people remember the location operating as The Breakers. One former worker specifically remembered working there during the Breakers years.

Local recollections place Chris and Wally Lassen with The Breakers during that period. Another detailed memory says that around 1972 or 1973 a $65,000 offer from Jim Cummings was turned down and brothers Bob and Ralph Umberti bought the restaurant. That part of the history comes from community recollection rather than a formal property record, but it fits the broader memories of the Umberti years.

Ralph Umberti became the person most strongly associated with Cap'n Flint's.

Former employees and longtime customers remembered him walking through the restaurant, greeting people and keeping an eye on everything. Workers repeatedly described the restaurant as a family and remembered Ralph as a generous employer who cared about his employees. One of the favorite stories was a "Dress Like Ralph" Day when employees showed up looking like him, with one manager apparently doing such a convincing job that people still remembered it years later.

Other memories connect Bob Updegrove with an earlier chapter of the restaurant and with some of the building's unusual details, including carved woodwork and a floor made from end cuts of lumber. He was also remembered in connection with Casa Del Noyo up the hill. Those details remain part of the community history and are best treated as recollections until additional records turn up.

Then there was the food.

Mention Cap'n Flint's around Fort Bragg and two things come up almost immediately: clam chowder and shrimp wontons.

The wontons became practically their own piece of local folklore. Former customers remembered the cream cheese and shrimp filling, how incredibly hot they were when they arrived at the table, and how easy it was to burn the roof of your mouth because nobody wanted to wait for them to cool down.

One recollection even preserved part of the cooking secret: keep the oil hot and do not cook too many orders at once.

But Cap'n Flint's was much more than wontons.

People remembered fish and chips, fried oysters, fried clams, scallops, shrimp baskets, shrimp sandwiches, shrimp creole, barbecue beef sandwiches, stuffed artichokes, shrimp Louie stuffed artichokes, the Captain's plate, the Treasure Chest, chocolate mousse and little bottles of Martinelli's apple juice.

Those kinds of memories say a lot about a restaurant. Decades later, people were not simply saying the food was good. They could still tell you exactly what they ordered.

The building itself was part of the experience.

Families remembered getting a window table and watching the harbor. One memory recalls watching Fourth of July fireworks from inside the restaurant. Kids remembered the fish tank and a character known as The Monkey visiting tables. Visitors staying nearby remembered walking across the bridge and down to dinner.

For some families, Cap'n Flint's became a Fort Bragg ritual. They went every vacation. Others ate there every Friday night. Some people got their first jobs there and stayed for years. Former employees remembered working together as a team and remaining friends long after the restaurant closed.

Cap'n Flint's also ended up with a Hollywood chapter.

During the filming of the 1987 Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell movie Overboard in the Fort Bragg area, the restaurant is remembered as appearing under the name "Crabs R Us." That small movie connection became another reason people recognized the building long after filming ended.

The restaurant eventually closed, with local memories generally placing the closing in 2016. One later discussion showed some uncertainty about the exact year, but the original research and farewell memories point to 2016.

The final days produced stories of their own.

People came back for one more meal, and the crowds became so large that favorite items began disappearing. One customer remembered returning specifically for shrimp wontons, hearing that they were gone, and then discovering that the waitress had located one last order.

That is about as fitting an ending to the Cap'n Flint's story as you could write.

The Building Today

Today the old restaurant building remains beneath the Noyo Bridge. People continue to comment on how strange it feels to see such a familiar harbor building sitting unused. Some say they still look for signs of life whenever they drive through the harbor. Others simply wish somebody would open it again.

That reaction explains why Cap'n Flint's still matters.

Why It Matters

It was not just a restaurant that happened to be in Noyo Harbor. It became part of the harbor's social history — a place where fishermen, families, visitors, employees and generations of local kids shared the same dining room.

People remember Ralph. They remember the employees. They remember the windows and the harbor. They remember the fish tank.

And, apparently forever, they remember those shrimp wontons.

Timeline

1957 — Commercial real estate information gives this as the building's construction year.

Late 1960s — Community memories place The Breakers restaurant at this location.

Early 1970s — Local recollection says brothers Bob and Ralph Umberti acquired the restaurant after another offer was rejected.

Cap'n Flint's years — The restaurant becomes a longtime Noyo Harbor favorite known especially for clam chowder, shrimp wontons, seafood and its waterfront setting.

1987 — The building is remembered as appearing as "Crabs R Us" during filming of Overboard in the Fort Bragg area.

2016 — Cap'n Flint's closes, according to the strongest local recollections gathered for this history.

Today — The former restaurant building remains at 32250 N. Harbor Drive beneath the Noyo Bridge.