The fine-dining restaurant that’s been a signature feature of Sunny Isles Beach’s plan to rebuild the Newport fishing pier is on life support.

A few weeks ago, state officials surprised city officials by balking at plans for an expanded 5,000-square-foot, two-story, fully enclosed restaurant as part of the pier project. Any construction beyond the existing 2,600-square-foot restaurant footprint would mean a full-scale environmental review, the state said. And that would mean a major investment of both time and money.

The decision kicked off a cascade of questions that culminated Oct. 15 when the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission was asked to sign off on a $135,000 deal for re-engineering the pier plan for a smaller restaurant. Mayor Norman Edelcup took the lead in raising questions about the investment and quickly won a postponement in tackling the engineering contract.

Even at about 5,000 square feet, the restaurant seemed a marginal investment. The city’s initial call for bids to operate the restaurant drew no interest. City Manager Rick Conner has since said two interested operators have surfaced but were not prepared to go public.

One of the issues is the city’s inability to sign anything longer than a five-year contract because the site remains under state control. Parking had always been an issue, although the parking garage that’s part of the Gateway Park plan would help. Visibility from Collins Avenue is an issue and shrinking the restaurant won’t help. In addition, the operator would be responsible for the $1 million-plus cost of completing the interior of the restaurant. Now come the rising costs, the potential for a lengthy delay and reduced revenue potential from fewer tables, prompting the question of whether a fine-dining restaurant is feasible.

Perhaps a return to kiosks would be a better fit, Edelcup speculated at the commission session.

Conner has promised the $4 million pier project would be completed by June. The project's cost is being split by the city and the Newport Beach Resort.

Expect the pier restaurant topic to be back on the agenda for the commission’s November meeting.