Editor's Note: The interviews for this story took place before the latest COVID-19 restrictions were announced on Sun., Dec. 6, and reflect the businesses' plans before those restrictions were implemented.
BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — In a sense, the Abby has made its way back home to Borden-Carleton.
But this time, the Abby is a partnership between Lone Oak Brewing Co. and the owner of Terry's Berries food truck, to open a new kitchen and food service inside the pub named after the MV Abegweit (or the Abby) ferry that once faithfully carried passengers back and forth between New Brunswick and P.E.I.
Lone Oak, and now the Abby, are also located on Abegweit Blvd. in the town’s Gateway Village.
"It just rounds out our operation. We knew from the beginning that we didn't want to operate a kitchen ourselves. It was something that we have no experience in, and we know from speaking with so many people in this industry how difficult it is. That's why it was the perfect fit for us to find a group of people that are excellent at doing that. They provide quality food and service that we expect from our brand at Lone Oak, and adding on Chef Jared (Acorn) was the icing on the cake. That was really exciting for us," said Jared Murphy, CEO and co-owner of Lone Oak, on Nov. 26 - the day before the Abby's opening.
"So, we're super excited to see the kitchen open for the area and provide something for the people who live here."
The Abby replaces Terry Nabuurs' food truck, Terry's Berries, which served customers outside of Lone Oak from May until October.
"We're running it like two completely separate businesses; although the collaboration is there," said Marion MacLean, the operations manager for the Abby's owner Nabuurs as well as the Wheelhouse in Georgetown and Thatchers Eatery inside Bogside Brewing in Montague. "Borden is ready for it."
Lone Oak opened in late November 2019, and had its official grand opening in January. The pub was serving hand pies from the HandPie Co., and is going to continue to do so as an option for customers once in a while, said Murphy.
The Abby has eight staff, including Chef Acorn, who is in charge of the menu.
"We've got burgers, wings, fried chicken sandwich - hopefully, the superstar is going to be the meatloaf sandwich," said Acorn, referring to some of the lunch and dinner menu items.
To make the indoor food service happen, the basement at Lone Oak was renovated in four short weeks to put in a kitchen.
"The transition happened very quickly, but at the same time, we had a clear vision of what we wanted," said MacLean.
The pub won't have food service directly to tables. Instead, customers order at the Abby counter. They get a buzzer, which tells them when to go back to the order station and pick up their food. They're also going to have take-out.
Food service began on Friday, Nov. 27.
"P.E.I. is all about a collaborative business environment. And, to survive, you've got to be willing to work with other local businesses. This is a perfect example of that and what two businesses can do when they put their minds to it," said Murphy.
Terrence McEachern is the business reporter for the Journal Pioneer.
