About Us

Our Story

In 1972, John's Dock was purchased by Jim Decubellis and his son Dave. Shortly after the purchase, the business was renamed to what we know today as Jim's Dock. The small bait shop in Jerusalem, Rhode Island was a place where the local fishermen loved to spend time together. The father & son duo dreamt of turning the simple bait shop into a restaurant where people from the village and surrounding towns could gather to enjoy local seafood and good company. During the early days of Jim's Dock, Dave worked full time as a state trooper. On his days off, he would spend time with his father in Jerusalem helping build what would become the restaurant. Through the early and mid 80's, tuna became so abundant in the area, that fishing boats from as far as Florida would travel hundreds of miles to cash in on it. Jim worked full time at the dock; cutting roughly 76,000 pounds of tuna each year. Still employed as a state trooper, Dave continued to help his father during his time off. The two would be at the dock late into the night, waiting for the fish to come in from deeper waters. Some of the tuna would be cut into steaks and served for dinner at the restaurant. The rest was sold to a Japanese fisherman who would truck the fish to Boston, Massachusetts and then ship it to Japan. Dave made the decision to retire from the state police in 1992, and take on more responsibility at the dock. For the next decade, the father and son duo worked side by side building upon the restaurant. Before his passing in 2000, Jim was able to see the vision he'd had since 1972 come to life. With the help of his family members, Dave was able to expand on his father's vision, turning the dock into a restaurant & marina. You could always catch him relaxing with a drink and ensuring the customers were all happy. It was smooth sailing at the Dock until 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit, nearly wiping away all of the hard work Dave and his family had put in over the last forty years. In true Dave fashion, the morning after the storm he began preparing to renovate what had been destroyed by the hurricane. Again, with the help of family and friends, Jim's Dock was rolled into the parking lot and lifted onto pylons so that it was sitting high enough to overlook the entire marina. After passing the restaurant down to his children, Justin, Niki, and Lona, Dave passed away in 2014. Lona has taken over as the manager of the dock, following in her father's footsteps and keeping his dream alive. From the small bait shop that Jim & Dave Decubellis purchased in 1972, to the Jim's Dock that is here today, we strive to uphold the same values and traditions that have made this place so special to so many for so long.