EASTHAMPTON — While the pandemic put an end to many of the familiar rituals of spring, an eatery popular in warm weather is back in operation in the city.
Captain Jack’s Roadside Shack reopened a week ago in a temporary location in the parking lot of the Cernak Buick property, across Route 10 from Tasty Top.
“It was just like opening a new restaurant,” owner Kevin Sahagian said. “For the most part it went pretty smooth.”
The open-air restaurant had been closed since January, as its 232 Northampton St. location was temporarily shuttered because of the construction of the new River Valley Co-op store next door.
The co-op owns the building from which Captain Jack’s was operating, and the business has signed a lease with the co-op to operate out of it going forward. Sahagian said that the business will be back at its original location when construction on the co-op is done.
Sahagian said that Captain Jack’s is using the old location to store and prep food, while the cooking and service is done at its current location.
Although people are currently not allowed to use the picnic tables near the restaurant because of COVID-19 restrictions, Sahagian said that many customers brought their own tables, chairs and blankets and ate on the property’s grassy area.
“Considering what we’re dealing with right now, it’s about as normal as you can get,” he said.
The shack is offering its full menu with the exception of hamburgers, as Sahagian said that the price of beef has almost tripled. He said the restaurant’s most popular offerings are its fish tacos and lobster rolls. “They’ll triple the sales of everything else,” he said.
However, he also noted that the clams “are really good this year,” and that the eatery also offers chicken sandwiches and hot dogs, as well as a Chicago-style hot dog and an Indian-themed vindaloo dog.
Because of the logistics around spreading the restaurant across two locations, shifts at Captain Jack’s now employ nine to 10 workers, whereas before they employed six to seven people. Sahagian said the crew he’s hired of approximately 25 people is about the same as a normal year, however.
Most of the people who work for Sahagian at Captain Jack’s are in high school or college. Sahagian said that some workers have been with him for several years, and that his favorite part of the business is seeing workers come back year after year. He also said that working with Ken Cernak and his family has been great.
“He’s gone out of his way to help us,” Sahagian said.
Jennifer Cernak, who co-owned the now-closed Buick dealership with her father Ken, said that having Captain Jack’s rent part of the property seemed like a nice thing to do for the city.
“There’s been a lot of lot of cars here,” Cernak said. “We’re happy to see that he’s doing so well.”
Sahagian said that Captain Jack’s will be in the Cernak location through October, after which he plans on transforming the trailer that its operating out of into a taco truck.
Sahagian said that Captain Jack’s will be open from noon to 8 p.m. daily except Mondays, although it might revert to its old 11 a.m. opening times in the future.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.