Waterman’s Surfside Grille: A Standing Tradition in Virginia Beach

There are a select few places in Virginia that, when mentioned in conversation with another Virginian, will result in the telling of a personal story or anecdotal experience. Most of these are historical sites or landmarks, but, occasionally, a community gem will stand out for another reason.

One such place is Waterman’s Surfside Grille, a landmark of Virginia Beach. The current iteration of the restaurant has graced the Boardwalk since 1981, but the site has been in owner Mike Standing’s family since the 1940s, when swinging big band performances were fading and World War II loomed over the military zones of coastal Virginia.

While the restaurant’s grand history is important, it is not what has led to its cult-classic standing with Virginia residents. The restaurant is famous for the inception of “Virginia’s Original Orange Crush”, a refreshing cocktail made with the signature crushed iced, freshly squeezed orange juice, orange vodka, orange liqueur, and a splash of lemon-lime soda. And like the restaurant’s nearly 100-year history, this mainstay beverage has a story.

The History Behind the Crush

The story of the famed Orange Crush began in 2001, when Standing was approached by a friend of a friend to purchase his boat and Mike suggested ordering drinks at his restaurant while they discussed the sale. The boat purchaser, Captain Jimmy Gray, remarked, “You should serve an Orange Crush here,” to which Mike responded that they did, and pointed out the cocktail on the menu. “I know, I ordered one and it sucks. You need to do them fresh-squeezed.”

Intrigued and open to constructive criticism, as well as an impromptu road trip, Mike and Mariah joined him the next day on a drive up to coastal Maryland, where he claimed they would try a fresh-squeezed Orange Crush that would blow the current Waterman’s cocktail made with store-bought juice away.

And the man was right–Mike immediately mapped out a plan for how this cocktail was going to change his restaurant, purchasing dozens of orange juicers and researching the best possible vodkas and liqueurs to use in the Virginia Beach version of this well-known summer drink. That stringency paid off almost immediately; in the first year after changing the recipe and rebranding the drink, Waterman’s served over 10,000 Orange Crushes; to date, they have served well over two million in Waterman’s.

Building on Success

As the legend of “Virginia’s Original Orange Crush” spread, Mike’s wife Mariah realized that there was a problem. With such large volumes needed of high-quality orange vodka and orange liqueur, Waterman’s was running into flavor consistency issues with the vodka they were using. And while the Standings were happy to share their recipe with other Virginia Beach restaurants, the bartenders at these other establishments did not always follow the vodka-to-liqueur ratio strictly adhered to at Waterman’s. 

Mariah found a solution to these problems with the idea to start her own spirits company–a daunting undertaking in any environment–but the timing could not have been worse; the pandemic brought the world to a stop, and restaurants were hit especially hard. Rather than scrapping the idea and buckling down to weather the economic storm brought by COVID-19, Mariah doubled down on the distillery idea.

Located right beside the Shack on 8th, Waterman’s Distillery exudes an elegantly understated coastal taste. An old wooden dinghy hangs from the ceiling, and wild greenery cascades from the tilted vessel.

If you’re looking to sample a taste of the coast, head to Waterman’s Surfside Grille and Waterman’s Distillery in Virginia Beach and sample “Virginia’s Original Orange Crush”!