Once popular but no longer open Hamilton restaurants Rapscallion and Two Black Sheep are being revived under the name Rapscallion & Co. and will occupy the space of the former Ventura's restaurant on James North.

Rapscallion & Co. is scheduled to resume business in full by February or March of 2020, says Erin Dunham, CEO of The Other Bird, the Hamilton-based hospitality group she owns with chef Matt Kershaw. The Other Bird is the parent company of Rapscallion and Co. and several other restaurants, including The Mule taco bar on King William.

Ventura's was recently closed, after being a fixture on James North since the 1980s.

The move was announced at a Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Business After Business event Thursday night (Nov. 28) and was also mentioned on Twitter.

"I'm so excited about this," says Dunham. "We were hoping to do it earlier this year but couldn't find the right location. Then we found out about Ventura's."

The owner, Virgilio Ventura, wanted to retire, she explains. "It's a nice transition and it's like he's passing the flame to us."

She says the two original restaurants, Rapscallion and Two Black Sheep, were closed earlier this year as The Other Bird made preparations to reconfigure them this way. The two will be combined in the one space, with a front bar area and a main dining area.

"It's fabulous how it worked out, having them back open," she says.

jmahoney@thespec.com

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