When Jeff Pierson鈥檚 grandfather built Black Beards family restaurant as a standalone establishment in 1966, it quickly became known for its homemade burgers and hand-cut fries. Fast-forward to 2018, and Black Beards is now part of the Days Inn hotel, where Pierson is now general manager. But the 110-seat eatery is still famous for its burgers, fries, gravy, and an array of inventive additions to the menu. The family restaurant also won the following Estevan Mercury awards: Best Breakfast, Best Family Restaurant and Best Overall Restaurant.
Pierson spends much of his time working the floor at the restaurant, chatting up regular guests with whom he has deep connections. 鈥淲e have relationships with so many customers we have known for dozens and dozens of years,鈥� he says.
In the busy, casual establishment, which was completely gutted and remodelled in 2015, families, friends, colleagues and sports teams regularly gather for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes it鈥檚 to celebrate a birthday, other times it鈥檚 for a fundraiser supporting hockey teams, Girl Guides or the local Tae Kwon Do club.
Whatever the occasion, they always eat well. For breakfast, diners love the hearty bacon and eggs or the skillets. For lunch, customers enjoy building their own grilled cheese or choosing from the constantly evolving grilled cheese menu. 鈥淲e鈥檝e offered to do it with garlic butter instead of regular butter,鈥� Pierson explains. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a game-changer; all the flavour that that brings is amazing ... We get pretty creative.鈥�
And then for dinner or an appetizer, there鈥檚 the opportunity to select from the incredible 鈥渁nd rather crazy鈥� poutine menu, Pierson says. When asked how many different types of poutine there are to choose from, Pierson laughs. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a really good question. We鈥檙e always moving around with them 鈥� We drop one and find another one to replace it with.鈥� Right now, diners can choose from Mexican poutine, dry garlic rib poutine, pierogi poutine and mozza stick poutine.
Although the menu has changed over the years, Jeff says he feels very proud to be a part of a third-generation restaurant started by his grandparents that has been recognized by its patrons: 鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful to be acknowledged by our community like we were by those three different awards.鈥�
Black Beards Family Restaurant,听(306) 634-2514, 1305 9 St, Estevan, SK.听
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