Seabreeze Restaurant, a fixture on Gwynn’s Island for many years, is now under new ownership.

Gary and Noelle Galluzzi bought the business Nov. 1 from longtime owners Ralph and Mary Valdrighi of the Glebe. The Valdrighis said they have had to spend a lot of time away from the business during the past few years and the restaurant’s management team of Laura Morgan of Mathews, Stacy Gallup of Gwynn’s Island and Ray Stephens of Gloucester have been active in its day-to-day operations and will help furnish the backbone of the Galluzzis’ staff of 18 full- and part-time employees.

“This has been our life,” Mary Valdrighi said of owning and working in the Seabreeze since 1979. While the Valdrighis sold the business to the Galluzzis, Mathews County owns the building.

Business has changed through the years, Ralph Valdrighi said, with more watermen working on Gwynn’s Island in years past. He recalls coming in at 3 a.m. to cook breakfast for the watermen—”but I didn’t do that for very long since it was too early for me.”

Also, the Valdrighis sustained hurricane and other storm damage at their waterfront location, but reopened soon after each setback.

Gary Galluzzi said they plan to open for breakfast, lunch and dinner—just how the Valdrighis operated. And the menu will include all of the favorites.

The Valdrighis said their menu has changed through the years, shifting away from mostly fried items to including fried foods along with more grilled and baked selections.

Noelle Galluzzi said they plan daily specials. A recent visit found specials as varied as parmesan-and-kale soup and a clam strip wrap.

Crab cakes have been one of the restaurant’s big sellers through the years, Mary Valdrighi said. Other popular items include grilled scallop cakes, steamed shrimp, stewed tomatoes, cole slaw and bread pudding.

Breakfast lovers can enjoy an assortment of eggs and omelets, Noelle Galluzzi said, as well as pancakes “which are large like Frisbees.”

The Galluzzis reside in New Jersey and plan to relocate to Mathews County. He owns a helicopter service and she is a kindergarten teacher. They have three children.