THE #BOCBUILDUP COUNTDOWN
For eight wonderful years, our Black Oystercatcher Restaurant and Venue has become home to so many. To many fantastic Overbergers – looking for a day in the countryside, sipping cool, refreshing wine with family and friends. And to many friends and visitors who travel a little further, and who for a brief moment in time can also call us ‘home’, before continuing on their travels.
And so, as we’ve grown as a brand and as the Black Oystercatcher team, we realised it was time to also renew and refresh our Black Oystercatcher Restaurant and Venue.
The result? We’re building a new section – to serve as our restaurant and wedding venue.
The new venue will retain the essence of the Black Oystercatcher: a place to relax, enjoy the views, and sip great wine with family and friends. The restaurant will be built just behind the old verandah section, overlooking the infinity pool, and the vast Agulhas Plain landscape behind it.
If you loved the old restaurant – converted from its original use many, many years ago as a dairy parlour and stable for horses, then not to worry.
“We’re keen to keep changing, improving, better understanding the needs of those who visit us.
So for us the Black Oystercatcher is a journey – one that will never end as long as our dream remains alive. Our new restaurant and venue is only one step along this journey.”
– Dirk Human
The old restaurant building remains untouched, and becomes our new wine-tasting venue. Until the launch of our new venue, it also remains our restaurant. And from here we’ll still serve you quality dishes in the fresh, clear Overberg countryside, with our menu crafted around the fresh veggies and herbs offered by each season.
 We’ve set ourselves a pretty tough deadline: by 5 November 2016, our new restaurant area will welcome you, and become your new home of quality cuisines.
For our small team, this is #BOCHistory. And we’re excited to share the journey with you. So over the next 8 weeks, we’ll keep you in the loop as we progress. We’re bound to enjoy many successes, and many challenges too. And you’ll be part of this – every step of the way.
#0WeekToGo
It’s here – #0WeeksToGo: the launch of our brand new venue at the Elim Wine Festival. Doors open here at 10am this morning – look forward to seeing you here. #BOCBuildUp
#1WeekToGo
Can you believe it? The #BOCBuildUp started 8 weeks ago. Now we’ve got #1WeekToGo – before our new venue launches at the #ElimWineFestival. The lights are in, and we’ve been testing the sound system, which sounds fantastic. And we’ve sealed the floor – now we’re just hoping the #Overberg rain stays out.
#2WeeksToGo
The views from our new #BOCBuildUp venue are fantastic. We’re nearly finished painting both the front and back verandas, with #2WeeksToGo. And we’re plastering the walls inside. The best bit? We’ve had our first fire in one of our new fire places – with both fire places now finished.
#3WeeksToGo
Can you believe there are just #3WeeksToGo for our #BOCBuildUp, and the #ElimWineFestival here at the Black Oystercatcher? The ceiling has now been completed, and the walls of the new bathrooms, kitchen and laundry area are in place. And most exciting: our new pizza oven is finished!
#4WeeksToGo
We’ve been busy working inside the new venue, installing the ceilings and more windows, as well as electrical and plumbing work. Building of the kitchen is also in progress, with #4WeeksToGo.
#5WeeksToGo
With #5WeeksToGo we’re happy to say we’re still on track, and the venue roof is now in place. Most of the windows and doors have also been installed and we’ve enjoyed our first sun-downer on the new stoep – the perfect location to watch the sun setting over the Agulhas Plain.
#6WeeksToGo
The new restaurant and venue is taking shape and we’ve made great progress this week, with #6WeeksToGo. Most of the electrical work has been completed and the concrete floors have been poured and power floated. We’ve also been building up the walls and we’ve started putting up the roof today.
#7WeeksToGo
The team is working hard on our #BOCBuildUp with #7WeeksToGo. The steel structure of the new restaurant is in place. And the preparation and compaction of the floor has also been completed. The rains have just arrived, though – so we’ll have to get back to it as soon as things clear up.
#8WeeksToGo
It’s #8WeeksToGo to our #BOCBuildUp – the launch of our brand new Black Oystercatcher Restaurant and Venue. And a lot has happened already – with the foundations of the new structure laid and the roof trusses up. In the meantime, our restaurant and wine-tastings (and cottages) continue as before – with no compromise to the quality of our food, or our focus on having a good time with family and friends!
#9WeeksToGo
Once the old structures had been knocked down, it was time to start building. And so the steel frame was put in place, with builders then ready to start laying the bricks.
#10WeeksToGo
We started off by knocking down the wall connecting the verandah section to the restaurant. Meanwhile, we levelled the area behind the verandah section, where the new restaurant is to be built.
We’re proud to partner with
We believe in supporting local businesses as far as possible and we would like to thank the following businesses for helping make this project fly.