Wareham’s Ella’s Wood Burning Owners Opening New Spot in Marion’s Former Mary Celeste

A popular Wareham restaurant is opening a second location soon, taking over a Marion spot that shut down last year and replacing it with a new concept.

Ella’s Wood Burning Oven Restaurant in East Wareham has been delighting diners on the Cranberry Highway since 2008, and now owner/chef Marc Swierkowski and owner/manager Bree Swierkowski are adding another location.

As announced on the Ella’s Wood Burning Oven Restaurant Facebook page, Cast Seaside Bites & Bar will open in the early spring in the space formerly occupied by the Mary Celeste Whiskey and Wine Library, which closed in August of last year.

The post didn’t provide very many details about what to expect, but it did have photos of some of the renovations being done to the interior.

Some commenters were upset that the tiles had been removed from the ceiling of the former Mary Celeste, but as the Ella’s page pointed out, they were plastic replicas and not true to the original structure of the building. The wooden bookcases and the bar will remain, however.

Get our free mobile app

The Mary Celeste had a short run in the location, opening in December 2020, but owner Mike Achilles noted in his August 29, 2022 closing announcement that “the pandemic has taken its toll.” The Mary Celeste’s liquor license was officially surrendered back to the town at the October 18 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

Ella’s, however, is still going strong. Marc Swierkowski, who was trained at the Culinary Institute of America, has developed a menu that takes full advantage of the wood burning oven while also creating unique flavor profiles that draw people in from all over.

In 2016, Swierkowski was invited, along with his staff, to present courses at the renowned James Beard House in Manhattan, a high honor for a chef.