A brewery’s opportunity on tap
Borden-Carleton craft brewery expands to Charlottetown, opening full-service restaurant
A Borden-Carleton brewery is expanding into Charlottetown with its first full-service restaurant.
Setting up shop in the former Piatto Pizzeria location on the Milky Way boardwalk off the North River Causeway, the new Lone Oak Brewpub will bring high-quality pub food, a cozy environment with a full-size fireplace and, of course, Lone Oak’s own craft beer on tap and for purchase from an on-site cold store.
“It was always in our plan to open a Charlottetown location,” said Jared Murphy, coowner and CEO of Lone Oak Brewery.
“When we opened a taproom (in Borden-Carleton), we were very surprised by the success of it given we opened shortly before the pandemic. The amount of support we received from people visiting our location who were just looking to get out and enjoy themselves – that really solidified our goal to open a second location.”
Murphy said the new location will differ heavily from the original Lone Oak Brewery taproom in Borden-Carleton. He said the taproom focuses more on social entertainment, with regular trivia nights and live music, whereas the new location will focus more on the atmosphere and the food.
“Our goal is to elevate the brand at the new location,” said Murphy. “The furniture will be comfortable and spacious. We will have three large TVs. It’s not a sports bar, but it’ll be a location where you can catch a game if you wish. The full-service model is something that separates the two locations quite a bit as well.”
The restaurant won’t be free of live music or events, though. Murphy said during the summer, they will have some things planned for the newly built stage on the Brewpub’s back patio, which will overlook the North River.
Setting up a full-service restaurant along the North River Causeway might seem like an odd choice for some, but Murphy said the location has a lot going for it, including lots of parking, being minutes away from both Cornwall and the core of Charlottetown and the visibility.
“The traffic and visibility the Milky Way sees on a daily basis is some of the largest on P.E.I.,” he said, adding the business should pair well with the other offerings along the boardwalk.
Chris Francis, owner of Receiver Coffee, which neighbours the Brewpub’s location, said he looks forward to the business moving in.
“We know the folks at Lone Oak, we’ve sold their products at our locations. They are a great team to work with, and we’re excited to see what they will bring out to The Milky Way,” he said.
While the owners of Lone Oak shift their focus temporarily towards the Brewpub, Murphy said things at the Borden-Carleton taproom will run as expected.
Since opening in November 2019, the taproom has found its own success, something Murphy said he hopes to capture in the new location.
“I think we surprised a lot of people with our choice to open and operate in a rural area of P.E.I,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of success with our location in Borden and we see a lot of similar qualities with that location when comparing it to the North River Causeway.”
Difficulties due to the pandemic quickly arrived at the taproom’s door only months after opening, but with a bit of creativity, adaptation and a staff that went above and beyond, Murphy said they made it through and learned some things that will aid them in the new location.
“I think taking on a pandemic will prepare us for almost anything that could happen in the future,” he said.
“I always joke that mitigating the risk of a pandemic wasn’t in our business plan. For us, though, we don’t know any different, and that’s a good thing. We've survived.”
Work on the Brewpub is still underway, and plans for opening are a few months out, but if everything falls into place, Murphy said they are hopeful they will be serving food and cold beer by the May long weekend.
“Obviously May long weekend is what a lot of Islanders see as the start of the summer season,” he said.
“If we’re able to reach our goal and open that weekend, we hope to have a busy weekend. Everyone is tired of the restrictions and the pandemic itself, so if things go according to plan, I think people will be looking to get out and about and it'll be a busy summer.”