Closed for Pizza, Open for Sanding

Peel’s beloved Black Dog Oven may look like it’s enjoying its usual January break, but behind the closed doors on the Quay, it’s very much all go.

While the popular pizza spot shuts up shop every Jan for a well-earned rest, this year’s ‘holiday’ has turned out to be anything but, with Mike and the team swapping pizzas for paintbrushes, sanders and a fair bit of graft.

Posting an update to customers, the team admitted things are currently in a state of organised chaos, as all the outside woodwork gets a much-needed makeover. And, as anyone who’s ever started a ‘small job’ will know, it didn’t stop there.

During a spot of sanding, some of the benches revealed they’d seen better days, prompting an impromptu bit of ‘furniture shopping’ and a few replacements being added to the list.

Everything else, meanwhile, has been sanded and re-varnished ‘within an inch of its life’, while Josie has been busy with the paint and Alex drew the short straw, being tasked with fixing a crack in the oven itself.

On the plus side, Alex reportedly didn’t mind too much, describing the inside of the oven as ‘warm and cosy’.

The team joked that anyone asking whether they’re ‘enjoying their holidays’ risks being dragged in and handed a sander.

The good news is that all the hard work means the Black Dog Oven will be back open on February 6, ready to dish up its much-missed pizzas, Norseman on tap, live Manx music and sweet treats.