Iconic restaurant The Anchorage on The Strand is for sale and included in the deal are a marina and a prime block of land on Nelson Place.

After operating the restaurant for almost 28 years, owners Margaret and Terry O'Hare have decided to retire.

The waterfront Anchorage has undergone considerable change since being taken over by the O'Hares in 1982.

Original owner Margie Oliver used to sell fish and chips from a small shed at the end of the pier on the marina.

"It was a 42-seat restaurant, it's grown a lot since then. We can now seat about 100 guests," Mrs O'Hare said.

The restaurant was moved from a shed on the marina to its current location on the foreshore.

"My husband Terry has done all the woodwork and glasswork to keep its nautical theme," Mrs O'Hare said.

She said she was sad about the decision to sell.

"It's been a passion of mine and something I don't really consider as work.

"When you love doing something so much it's easy and we've been very lucky with the staff we have; they've been very loyal.

"We have put in a lot of effort for our customers - be they local or overseas visitors, they love coming here. It is, after all, one of the premier locations in Williamstown."

Mrs O'Hare said the restaurant must be sold as a going concern

"because it's so much a part of Williamstown's history".

"Terry has combined modern materials and old-world finishes that reflect the history of the area, so it's very important to us that whoever takes

over respects the tradition of this restaurant.

"We found an anchor when they were dredging, which we put up here, and despite all the complaint about the dredging, it hasn't had any adverse effect."

Mrs O'Hare said she would not like the new owners to change the venue into a noisy restaurant.

"The nautical feeling matches well with the marina and I would like whoever buys it to respect the history and peacefulness of Williamstown."

The owners are fielding expression-of-interest inquiries and have received offers from overseas buyers.