Christian Wall of Marblehead runs a business called Water Waiters in conjunction with The Landing Restaurant. Item Photo by Owen O’Rourke
By Bridget Turcotte
MARBLEHEAD — A boy, his dinghy and a business model.
Fifteen-year-old Christian Wall spent his summer vacation as an entrepreneur running a food delivery business in Marblehead harbor.
Two years ago, his friend Matt Rickards approached management at The Landing Restaurant about an idea to run a delivery service for people on their boats. Rickards created an app that can be downloaded on Apple and Android phones and allows users to order food for delivery.
After Water Waiters Harbor Delivery had its first successful season, Rickards, 18, decided he was too old to continue and passed the business on to Wall, a sophomore at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers.
“I typically get three to four customers in an evening,” Wall said. “It started off slow because of the weather, but it really picked up by the end, especially in August.”
When placing an order, customers are asked to provide the name and color of their boat, mooring number, and general location.
The menu offers appetizers such as hummus with carrots, celery and panini bread; wings; shrimp cocktail; and scallops and bacon ranging from $10 to $14. Entrees cost between $14 and $24 and include several options, such as steak tips, lobster mac and cheese, and baked haddock. A pizza is about $10.
A delivery charge equal to 20 percent of the order total is added and the food is brought to customers on their boat or dock.
Wall said he grew up in an ocean-oriented family and was always drawn to the water. He spent many summers sailing with his dad, and remembers his mom putting a lifejacket on him almost immediately after waking up before he could run off to the water.
Because of the connections he’s made through Water Waiters, he has secured gigs at the Dolphin Yacht Club on Allerton Place and Marblehead Yacht Club on Cliff Street as a dock hand, who helps boaters when they arrive.
“This has taught me about running my own business and having responsibilities,” Wall said. “It’s opened up more opportunities for me. My goal is to get a job as a lunch driver shuttling people to their boats, which is a pretty good job.”
Labor Day will be Wall’s last night delivering for the season. To date, he has made $1,500, he said.
“I hope to do it again next year,” Wall said. “I love it. Hopefully I can do it for a few more years before passing it on to someone else.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.