The Paper Canoe, up on the north end of Duck, has a well deserved reputation for wonderful food and spectacular sunsets. Overlooking Currituck Sound, it is a wonderfully relaxing yet little bit upscale restaurant, ideal for a date night.
We came across an article in the Outer Banks Voice lately about the new owner of the restaurant, and for anyone concerned that new ownership may mean a change in quality or menu, knowing that Jean-Marc Berruet is now in the kitchen should be reassuring.
Jean-Marc’s father was Marc-Jean Berruet and for five years, from 2013 to 2018 the father was the chef that oversaw the creation of some of the finest dishes the Paper Canoe ever served.
His son, at his father’s request, started working in the kitchen when he was just 15, and he kept coming back year after year. At the end of the 2021 season when owner Tommy Karole decided the time was right to sell so he could concentrate on his newer Kitty Hawk restaurant The Pony and Boat, Jean-Marc stepped up and figured out a way to buy the restaurant.
He’s only 24 so he’s probably the youngest restaurant owner on the Outer Banks.
What really seems to make this story standout though, is how the son is carrying on the legacy of the father. Marc-Jean passed away last year, but many of his recipes and ideas for a menu will live on.
Jean-Marc is determined to recreate the recipes his father brought to the restaurant, and he has located a couple of the notebooks his father used to keep track of daly specials and what was being served.
A visit earlier this month leaves no doubt there has been no decline in service or quality.
There are so many stories to be told about the Outer Banks. Stop by for a week or two and being exploring this sandbar by the sea while staying in a Brindley Beach Vacations home.