An expanding pub empire

By Chris McGregor

BEDFORD, NS—Over the last two years, Split Crow owner Damian Byrne has expanded his “empire” by opening four restaurants.

The fourth Split Crow pub recently opened in Bedford, with a fifth coming to Antigonish by this September.

Inside a Split Crow.

“I’ve had a strategy of taking on operating partners in each place. I am a majority owner and the partner has a 40 per cent stake,” Byrne said.

He believes it is the owner/operator model that increases the odds of success, as someone with a commitment to the business is always in the restaurant.

“Expansion was not necessarily planned, it was out of necessity. They operate identically and have the same specific feature. They are places that look and feel just like the original Crow,” Byrne said.

Taking a page from McDonald’s, prices at Split Crow vary based on location, but each restaurant runs the same specials and the menu created by executive chef Ron McMaster is exactly the same.

To set up additional growth of the chain, Byrne recently changed the restaurant’s tagline to “Nova Scotia’s original tavern.”

The Bedford restaurant.

“I’d like to see the brand strongly established in Nova Scotia first. It has a lot of legs to go across Atlantic Canada. I’d like to test the model across Canada in Toronto and Calgary,” he said. In total, as many as 10 outlets are possible across the country.  

The Split Crow’s Truro location has a Ryan Duffy’s restaurant upstairs (similar to Mel’s and Cheers, on the TV show Cheers), a combination Byrne wants to try in some cities like Calgary.

“A Maritime-flavoured steakhouse in Calgary with live music would go over really well, especially with all the people from Atlantic Canada out there.

“We believe we have cornered the market on maritime-themed entertainment.”

Byrne said he expects the recent shipbuilding contract awarded to a Halifax company to pay dividends to restaurant owners.

“The people in the know have said have its like Vancouver having the Olympics for 30 years.”