Rockwood gets filled up on "Station" concept; The Fish Shack setting up shop instead

This recession has been relatively merciful on local restaurants and eateries, at least those situated in and around Durham's downtown core. And the Rockwood area has been one of the most-blessed districts, from Local Yogurt and Wine Authorities to Beard-award-nominated Nana's to The Q-Shack and Thai Cafe.

Into that mix last year stepped Rockwood Filling Station, described by one Yelp'er as "a high end pizza place in an old gas station that still has the power garage doors in place and rigged to go." 

It opened in summer 2008 to heady acclaim, particularly given its Scott Howell pedigree -- Howell, the owner of aforementioned neighbor Nana's, was identified as one of the movers behind the concept.

Reviews over time online were mixed, with some superlatives mixed in with the occasional barb over service or especially price. Of late, banners out in front noted the presence of extended lunch hours and the like, a sign perhaps of a desire to draw more folks in.

Then, as of Sunday, Rockwood Filling Station hung up its draught beer pumps and washed the windshields on its massive glass doors for the last time.

But not for long -- a new eatery's coming soon, as soon as next month, with a name and logo familiar to those who've ever been to, oh, to the Rockwood Filling Station before.

A banner outside the Rockwood Filling Station now has a "coming soon" sign for a new place, The Fish Shack.

And if the logo in that last word looks familiar, why yes, that is "shack" as The Original Q-Shack right next door.

The manager at the Q-Shack told BCR on Wednesday that he and his partner got a call from the landlord/building owner of the Rockwood Filling Station asking if they'd be interested in taking on the challenge of running that establishment -- a call which got the Q-Shack folks quickly, ahem, hooked.

(Incidentally, according to Durham Co. property records, the owner is one David Scott Howell -- so you know.)

"The Fish Shack" will be a similar semi-self service concept as the Q-Shack, with an ordering queue and tables, though the food will likely come swimming out to you when it's done in the tank.

The site won't be bobbing along empty for long, with The Fish Shack apparently projecting a late March/early April opening date.

It's an interesting line extension for Q-Shack, long a popular destination for Durhamites. One wonders, if there's ever an opportunity, if we'd ever be seeing "The Wine Shack," "The Yogurt Shack," "The Thai Shack," "The Guglhupf Shack"....?

(Big hat tip to two BCR readers, both coincidentally named Mark, for phoning this one in.)

Comments

[Jonathan]

Sad to see Rockwood go. I had many great meals there in my last year in Durham and never any problems.

[LD]

NOOOOOOO! I love Rockwood's pizza. And I don't eat fish. This really sucks.

[LD]

It's funny though - just last week I was wondering why, for a pizza place, they had all those big fish decorating the area above the bar. And now, at least the decor will make sense. Still, boo.

[James]

Rockwood's pizza was great. However, I had a customer-ending experience there when they "lost" my credit card and lied to me about it after waiting for a half hour.

Personally, not really sad to see them go.

[Dave W.]

Bummer. Hopefully the new place will be good.

Note to the new management... please lose the TVs.

The space is too small for TVs not to be an annoying distraction, even if the sound is off.

[TSQ75]

Rockwood was nice, but not outstanding for me...

but i'm immensely happy for a new inexpensive fish option! hopefully, they'll capitalize on NC and east coast catch!

[Jonathan]

Depends on the amount of involvement Scott will have but based on personal experience he does a really good job and has great connections with local fishermen off the coast of North Carolina. When I was around he was getting fresh caught fish a couple of times a week at Nanna's.

It all depends on the menu but I would love a place that doesn't have a set menu, but rather a seasonal menu based of local fresh caught fish at an affordable price.

[Jeremy T]

I liked Rockwood Filling Station well enough, but I didn't think it was exceptional in any way. Durham's restaurant scene is pretty competitive, and I just didn't see anything about Rockwood's food and pricing that would make me choose it over Pop's.

The building, though, is very cool, and hopefully the "Shack" will put it to good use.

[clbr]

No, no, no. This is horrible—I love RFS! We go there all the time. Some dumpy fish shack is not going to do much for that block. Worst idea ever. (But I agree with whoever said to ditch the TV's!)

[JC]

Seasonal offerings would be great. Would love to see another place (besides Fishmongers, of which I am a fan despite all it's rough edges) offering raw oysters.

Rockwood was nothing special; like others, I thought Pop's was much better (and didn't Howell have a hand in that at one time as well?).

[Tooth]

Definitely get rid of the TVs. They're way too distracting in that small space.

[Jon]

Any place that charged $6 for a pint of beer without advertising the price on the menu deserves to go. RFS never got my business again after that.

Happy to see a well-run establishment like the Q get a chance to expand into another delicious direction. We need a good fish place around here!

[Sus]

We went to RFS occasionally, but I always wanted to like it more than I did. I think one of the problems was that it wanted to be casual and high-endish at the same time and ultimately, that did them in. Their salads were consistently terrible, but their pizzas were decent. Oh, and yeah, save the TVs for the all-important bball games, but don't have them running the whole time.

[Robert Gordon]

Don't expect too much fresh NC fish from a place called "The Fish Shack." Just like their next-door namesake was a 'Quick Casual' bastardization of NC BBQ (and every other region's Q for that matter), I'm sure this new offering will be a similar unholy alliance of clever branding, cheap inputs and bland offerings. But the hair-gel wearin', iphone using young folks, and the in-the-South but not of-the-South transplants who want to experience some fake local color will eat this sh*t up. Bon Appetite.

[weege]

I'm a hair-gel wearin', iPhone carryin', eastern NC boy and I happen to like Q'Shack. It's not exactly what I grew up with, but it's still good.

Who hurt you?

[Greg]

I love the location, but 5.50 for a beer? Ye, gods...

[Joshua Allen]

No loss for me. I was disappointed with my one and only visit to RFS. I think Vita and BSC pizza is much better. So I'm hoping I'll like Fish Shack, and can add it to my list of eateries.

[Rob Gillespie]

@Joshua-
I love Vita for lunch-time pizza. The only problem is that I can't get myself over there as often as I used too...

[Rah]

Welcome to Durham, where we talk about our food.

[Will]

Ironically RFS might have been pretty successful if this post was written a year ago and they'd headed commenters' advice.

[Todd P]

BCR can always drive up website hits and comments by posting a story about food.

[Natalie]

except that for the same price you could get better pizza at Pop's.

[Jonn]

Yes, Pop's is the pizza champion.

Good riddance! RFS had average service and pizza and above average pricing. Huzzah for Q-Shack! Excellent service, food and pricing.

[Uteriter]

I liked RFS, but I do remember asking once for pineapple as a topping, and the waiter smirked and said they didn't carry that b/c it's something you can get at papa john's. Really?! Well, PJ is still in business.

[brandon h]

I'm surprised they lasted this long. Their pizzas were bland, at best.

[Adriane]

I'm feeling a bit bereft; I thought their pizzas were delicious -- especially the four cheese. By contrast, I think most of Pop's food is more expensive than good.

RFS, I'll miss ye.

[Durham Walking Dog]

It was my favorite pizza by far. And I always had amazing service. Very sad to see these guys go.

[Cosign]

IF they can't get pizza right, what do you think they're going to do fish?

[Ed Hubbell]

I'm excited. The menu says they'll have oyster po-boys. Plus if it is the format of the Q Shack, then it'll be kid friendly (no one minds a ruckus in a ruckus).

[Chase]

RFS had outstanding pizza, world class. I shrug that anyone would think Pop's is in the same league. I thought the salads were good too. I will also hope for wild NC fish in the RFS space, but I'm not holding my breath. Scott can still get wild fish for Nana's at $26 per plate but it sounds like this fish place will be at the Q-shack price point and margins (SORRY but: flabby corporate torture meat and farmed or frozen trawler fish). RFS was a great casual restaurant for people who really like food and don't consider animal protein essential for a meal. What a SHOCK. I would be happy to pay six bucks for their beers if it would keep them in business. And I will look forward to whatever Scott comes up with next. I am grieving the loss of RFS.

[MTB]

Sounds good to me... QShack is well run and consistent. No- it's not NC BBQ, nor do they claim to be. I challenge anyone to find a better beef brisket sandwich in the state.

A lunch of shrimp, catfish, or low country boil and a beer this spring sounds awesome to this reader. I think Dan has tapped into a great unmet niche if he can get this right.

[Chris Q.]

They still have the stupid TV.

[Camille]

YES! This is exactly what Durham is missing!! We are close enough to the coast to have great seafood, and yet there is a serious dearth of fresh fish around here. This couldn't be better news to me.