John McKnight and Chris Womack have been friends for many years, since back when McKnight was a food sales representative and Womack was the downtown Washington Curiosity Shop’s head chef. Now that friendship has morphed into a business partnership: last Wednesday they opened a new restaurant, Ne’er Do Well, at the old site of Blackbeard’s Restaurant in Washington.

“This is about eating well at a price point that is no different than anyone else,” McKnight said. “You are going to eat from a scratch made menu, which we might be the only one in Beaufort County.”

Since leasing the building from the owners of Blackbeard’s, the two undertook massive renovations to the building starting around Thanksgiving and opened their doors just 10 days ago for soft opening to family and friends.

Both McKnight and Womack worked on the remodel of the restaurant themselves, along with the apprentice Corby Moses and other staff members. One of the new features is a bamboo bar top that was originally made to be flooring, but the owners liked the look it made for a bar. Gone are the paneling, the murals of Blackbeard and the dark, enclosed spaces. Now, it’s a set up of two restaurants in one: one casual fine dining area and another grill and bar in a separate area. McKnight and Womack only have one rule for people coming into either: wear a shirt and they’ll serve you.

“The menu in the casual fine dining side is completely different than the pub and grill,” McKnight said.
If Womack’s name sounds familiar, many other faces at Ne’er Do Well may look just as familiar: McKnight and Womack have hired many of the people who worked with Womack at the Curiosity Shop, including chef Bob Wilson, who came out of retirement after nine years.

“I am out of retirement, so he is out of retirement,” Womack said with a laugh.

McKnight added, “I have been trying to get Bob to cook for the last nine years and he finally said yes.”

Menu items they are excited about are the crab cakes, duck wings, bacon wrapped shrimp, vegetarian options and tomato pie.

“We try to do a few things that are new,” Womack said. “We are trying to provide a good quality product without breaking the bank.”

Big for both McKnight and Womack is the idea of family. They want to start with making the employees feel happy because they feel that if they are happy the customers will be happy. One member of the family they are trying to mold is Moses, who at 19 is looked at as McKnight and Womack’s surrogate son. Both say they are giving him life lessons and tough love, but they want him to succeed.

“I want to take away everything I can,” Moses said. “I want to take what they can teach me when I go to college.”

Last Friday, that family atmosphere was also extended to a couple celebrating their 30-year anniversary at Ne’er Do Well — a couple who had actually met at Blackbeard’s.

“They spent three hours at the restaurant and got to know the entire staff,” Womack said. “I know they will be regulars and I will see them every April 18 until they are no more.”

Ne’er Do Well has already gained a vibe in the community, according to McKnight.

“Everybody who has come in here wants to be a part of the vision that he (Womack) and I have,” McKnight said.

Ne’er Do Well is located at 1000 Washington St., Washington, 252-975-6225.