ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Aww shucks, a popular oyster bar in Annapolis reopened its doors after a fire shut it down almost two years ago.
"They're ready to go which means I can come in and get some oysters and drinks and I’m pretty happy about that,” said Winship Wheatley who is a customer at Sailor Oyster Bar.
When Scott Herbst said he would reopen Sailor Oyster Bar, he meant it.
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"Don’t give up the ship," said Herbst who is the owner.
A phrase that caught on within the restaurant that has more meaning now than ever.
"June 8, 2022, I had just left, I live in the neighborhood behind us. I got a phone call from Brice, one of my managers, that said you need to come back there's a fire,” said Herbst.
News that left him shocked and overwhelmed. Determined to be accidental, no one was hurt but a lot of the business was destroyed. This required Herbst to rebuild from the ground up.
"It was dirt from the second floor ceiling just a box, and we found out a lot of things that we didn’t know we would have like there was no foundation in this building cause it was built in 1890 something,” said Herbst.
It was a tough time, but with support from the community through GoFundMe and benefits, $110,000 was raised.
"I gave all of it to the staff, I think it was like 99 point something percent," said Herbst. "I would meet them weekly and say hey here's some money."
And a majority of the workers came back. Herbst said he wanted to keep the business as original as possible.
"To replicate the DNA on the first floor was really important to us, the bathrooms, the wood top bar, the pictures, a lot of the photographs we were able to salvage, some of my speakers have a little bit of smoke damage and that's ok, I like it,” said Herbst.
But there was room to expand on the second floor. "Upstairs is a little bit of a game changer,” said Herbst. "We were able to install a bar and bathroom and a bigger prep kitchen.”
The first night back in business, people lined the sidewalk eager to get on board with some fresh shellfish. Herbst said the menu is the same concept. The oysters are only served raw and there are always options when it comes to flavor.
"We always have at least seven different ones every night from local, to North East to the West coast,” said Herbst.
Those who were regular diners before the fire are ready to come back to snag their regular spot.
"Oh it's great, when I wanted oysters we would sit in the bay window usually if we could get in there," said Jon Wall who lives in Annapolis.
"We're happy it's a great local establishment and it's great to see that they came back so quickly," said April Wall who lives in Annapolis.
The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. and is closed on Monday.
