Flood fatigue: Fort Amherst Pub owner heads to new location on drier ground
Evan Bursey is moving his pub to Churchill Square from downtown St. John's
After more than a year awash in problems with his downtown location, bar owner Evan Bursey is heading to Churchill Square to finally get his Fort Amherst Pub open for good.
After a second flood in November from an upstairs business forced the newly opened pub to close its Water Street doors — and facing months of waiting for repairs and renovations — Bursey decided it was time to look at other options.
- Set to go, then setback: Flood forces St. John's pub to delay opening
- Washed out again: Fort Amherst Pub shuttered after second flood from upstairs business
"I live in the area of Churchill Square, so I was driving home one day after cleaning up a little bit down at 320 [Water Street] and I drove through the square to avoid some traffic, and lo and behold [the former] Pizza Hut was [available]," he said.
Bursey wasn't looking to leave downtown, with its proximity to Mile One, hotels and convention centre. But with the amount of money sunk into the pub already, it was time to mitigate his risk, he said.
Finding the silver lining
"We definitely had a seemingly great location there, but we'd been in the building for a year and unable to open up our doors due to third-party liability floods," he said. "So at a certain point you just have to do what's best for yourself and start turning things in a positive direction."
Despite it being an "emergency move," the new location is in a newer building with more kitchen space.
That will allow Bursey to provide takeout service too.
"If you try to find the silver lining to anything, you will," he said.
Bursey said he hopes to have his pub open for the first week of June.