Landmark Brant Rock Restaurant Rebrands After Community Feedback
A longtime Marshfield restaurant is undergoing a significant transformation as its new owners respond to community feedback about the establishment's future direction.
The former Haddad's Ocean Cafe at 291 Ocean Street will now operate as Brant Rock Ocean Cafe, following approval from the Marshfield Select Board on January 13. The change comes months after Table Nine Hospitality and its partners Chuck Hitchcock, Jeremy Scanlon, and Joseph Queally purchased the establishment from Chuck and Mitch Haddad in fall 2024.
Co-owner Chuck Hitchcock explained to the board that while they initially hoped to maintain the previous name, community input suggested it was time for a change.
"We had come in hoping that we were able to keep the name, keep the brand," Hitchcock told the board. "Unfortunately we are seriously limited during the due diligence process on how much we can speak to the general public. We didn't know what we didn't know."
In an earlier statement, the ownership group had acknowledged the community's desire for change. "The overwhelming feedback has been that a fresh start is the best way forward, so we are excited to begin this new chapter as simply 291 Ocean Street – a name that reflects a new beginning and allows us to build a brand around what is most important: where we reside," they wrote.
Co-owner Jeremy Scanlon elaborated on the community's reaction to their initial changes. "As we started to try to put our take on the restaurant and make our little changes on the menu and on these different things, a lot of the reaction to that was that's not what we expect when we walk in this building," Scanlon said. "I think the reaction to that was generally, well if you're not going to be Haddads then don't be Haddads."
The new name represents more than just a cosmetic change. Hitchcock explained that the rebranding will allow them to "have more of a conducive change from not just the summer brand that had ads was specifically so well known for but a year round brand."
Table Nine Hospitality, which also owns Assembly in Quincy, plans to update the physical space while maintaining its popular features. "We get to brand the specific areas of the room to have a little bit of a fine dining, nicer area in the dining room and then still a bar area. It gives us some flexibility," Hitchcock said.
Despite the changes, the owners assured the Select Board that the restaurant's popular function space will continue operating as before. When asked about changes to the upstairs entertainment area, Scanlon responded, "The short answer to that question is no, absolutely."