Snack Shack, a Northside favorite, closed its doors Tuesday after four years at its Hearst Avenue location to move to a new home on Euclid Avenue.
The relocation has been a dream of owners Scott Wortmann and Rachel Spector for several years. With a larger space and a bar on Euclid Avenue, Snack Shack will be able to serve more people, according to Wortmann. While customers will no longer find Snack Shack on Hearst Avenue, Spector said a new restaurant, Snack Box, will be opening in its place.
According to Wortmann and Spector, the new location will have the same atmosphere as the previous location but will see more efficiency in its serving time.
“We’ll have a bigger kitchen, so we’ll be able to put out food quicker, and we can also do more elevated specials … and try different things,” Spector said. “We’ve always wanted to get on the main street because street value is worth a lot. Since we got (in Berkeley) we’ve always wanted to be (in this location).”
Wortmann added that the couple plans to serve beer beginning in January of next year and hopes to transform the restaurant into “the place to go” in Northside. Until then, Snack Shack will continue to serve its traditional burgers, milkshakes and fries.
Campus doctoral student Nikita Samarin said that when he saw the sign indicating Snack Shack’s relocation, he was “a bit surprised.”
Samarin added that while the previous location of Snack Shack was small, he enjoyed sitting outside with the customers of surrounding restaurants.
“In Snack Shack, you can bring your friends and have dinner,” Samarin said.
Wortmann said the couple created Snack Box because their lease obligated them to remain at their Hearst location. After one year, however, they hope to close it and focus on Snack Shack.
The concept of Snack Box will be “quicker, smaller, faster,” according to Spector. The couple plans on serving macaroni dishes and different types of sandwiches, such as fried chicken sandwiches, with various sauces.
While it will be difficult to manage two locations, Spector said she and Wortmann will split their time to manage the locations. Spector will manage Snack Shack while Wortmann will oversee Snack Box, experimenting with the new menu.
Spector and Wortmann have yet to decorate their new location, but plan to close it during December to do so.
Snack Box will open within the next week.
