The Black Duck on Bridge Street in Sackville has gone through a number of changes over the course of the pandemic, as co-owners Al Barbour and Sarah Evans tried to adapt to the steady stream of changes in public health rules and people’s habits. And today, the popular eatery reopens anew again, this time as Oystërhead Tavern.

CHMA dropped by the restaurant this week to find out what’s in store from Barbour himself:

Barbour says that Oystërhead is run by “the same Black Duck team, working out of the same building,” just under a new name. With asthetic changes inside the restaurant, the name Oystërhead—part homage to English heavy metal band Mötorhead, and part nod to the fresh oysters on the menu—seemed more fitting that the Black Duck, says Barbour.

There won’t be significant menu changes since the cafe moved to lunch and evening service earlier this year. “It’ll be a similar menu to what we’ve been running,” says Barbour.

“We’ve been operating for 10 years and the pandemic has made us rethink some of the things that we were doing,” says Barbour. “We decided to concentrate more on bespoke food, as opposed to things like sandwiches and fast grab and go sort of stuff.”
Barbour says the restaurant will still use food from the Black Duck garden and other local suppliers. Meals will be more elaborate than what was on offer at the old cafe, but also “approachable and not particularly expensive,” says Barbour.

Barbour says that changes along Bridge Street over the course of the pandemic have reduced the number of people he sees downtown, especially noting the loss of Thunder and Lightning, and more recently the Hounds of Vintage clothing store, both of which added to the drawing power of downtown.

Issues finding workers is also at play in the newly launched restaurant’s hours, just four days a week on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 9pm, and Sundays from 11am to 3pm.

“One of the reasons we changed what we’re doing is because operating a cafe seven days a week, from 7am until 7pm takes too many staff for what we’re able to hire in Sackville,” says Barbour. “So we’re four days a week, and that directly has to do with the labour shortage.”

But for those four days Barbour has a simple pitch for Sackvillians: “Just come and try it out. It’s the same great food as always, and it’s really good value.”