Big Marina bar/restaurant news, from new top chef to rooftop deck.

It's been a diet of both good and bad news for the Marina eating scene this week, with no shortage of intrigue sprinkled on top.

Some good—and surprising—news came first: The new hotel Marina SpringHill Suites, which is essentially complete, will have a rooftop deck, making it only the third venue in the area (after Vesuvio in Carmel and Hotel 1110 in Monterey) with such an amenity.

It also promises a modern bar and restaurant on the first floor.

Then came the major plot twist: The storms that rocked the area last month may wash out its opening. Not directly, but close enough.

David Schmalz reports as much with "As PG&E crews work overtime in the wake of recent storms, a Marina hotel is left in the lurch." 

Developer Harvey Dadwal has dreamed of building a hotel on the Monterey Peninsula for about a dozen years, and it’s a dream he has nearly achieved.

But because Dadwal is struggling to get Pacific Gas & Electric to hook up power to his almost-complete, 106-room hotel—located just south of Imjin Parkway in Marina—it appears he will be out about $635,000 in incentives unless PG&E gets to work on the hotel in the next week, which is unlikely.

In short, he had to have the hotel up and running, electricity included, by March 31. If not, sizable financial incentives from the city of Marina go bye-bye.

But because PG&E has so many pressing priorities from storm fallout, they've back-burnered the hotel project.

“We’re facing very tight scheduling conflicts,” PG&E spokesperson Mayra Tostado told Schmalz. “It’s been all hands on deck, restoring power and rebuilding damaged infrastructure in the tri-county area.”

Dadwal needs power by March 10—unless he is granted his second extension by Marina City Council.

“The damage has been extensive and unprecedented,” Tostado added. “This is one of the worst situations we’ve seen in decades.”

Fortunately there was much better hospitality news in the city of wind.

On March 2, Sanctuary Beach Resort announced it has hired its first restaurant employee to captain new spot-to-be Salt Wood, which occupies the former Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse.

Popular chef David Baron will move over from landmark Casanova in Carmel, focusing on raw, cured and wood-fired dishes. Seasonal seafood and shared items are also near the top of his priorities.

He's got some serious chops, having worked with celebrated chefs like Chris Costentino at Incanto in San Francisco and Daniel Patterson at both Coi in San Francisco and Plum in Oakland. He also spent time at the two-Michelin-star La Bouitte in France.

That makes this a coup of sorts for often overlooked Marina, which Baron says was part of the calculus behind the move.

"It's bittersweet because our family’s such great friends with the Georises [who own Casanova]," Baron says. "I never expected to leave. Chef Klos [Georis] is my son’s godfather. 

"But it's good for my family, for my staff and for Marina."

He plans to install a grill at the Salt Wood bar, right inside the door, and fire pits on the beach which can become barbecue grills for beach parties. He says a "baller" weekend brunch is also in the works—"what you would throw down for your chef buddies," he says—as is as much foraging for ingredients as he can find time for. 

He proved his commitment to the full-animal ethic at Casanova through a partnership with organic grass-fed beef purveyors Cream Co. Meats. At Salt Wood he envisions dishes like fennel pollen-rubbed pork chops, porcini-crusted rib caps and close relationships with sources like The Caviar Company and Swank Farms.

With dinner only to start, Salt Wood is scheduled to open early summer 2017, though a peek at the property makes that feel a little optimistic.