How this Pop-up is Bringing Fresh Oysters to North East Events
Living North catches up with Liberty Mitchell of The O Co, the North East's newest mobile oyster bar
Despite working in the engineering industry, Liberty, who has lived in the North East all her life, has always had a soft spot for hospitality. So when she and fellow oyster-fanatic Sam dreamt up a mobile cart they could take around the North East, it didn’t seem as far-fetched an idea as it might have done. ‘It was just a doodle at first but we thought, why not make it real?’ she says. ‘We built the cart from scratch ourselves. We both knew the materials and the configurations because we work in engineering and we teamed up with loads of local businesses who helped to bring it to life. For sure it wasn’t smooth sailing at all – it was intense.’
Fitting The O Co around their full-time work was a task in itself, and their first pop-up event took place at a beach party earlier in 2025. ‘It’s quite a funny story actually,’ Liberty recalls. ‘Our first gig was a private beach party [of] a good friend of ours. I’d practiced shucking so much in those few weeks that I actually had a broken wrist. Obviously I wasn’t doing it right, so a big shout out to the guys at Fish in Low Fell for then teaching us the ropes.’
Nevertheless, the event was a success and helped establish some of The O Co’s signature flavours. ‘Obviously our oysters are Lindisfarne [because] we like to support the local area. The menu changes based on what people love, but basically The O Co lovers out there are obsessed with the soyster and the sexy cheese and onion,’ Liberty explains. ‘The soyster is Asian-inspired, with loads of nuts and loads of soy sauce. Then we’ve got the cheese and onion which is basically what it says on the tin – loads of lovely locally-sourced Parmesan and spring onions topped with a whole load of salted butter. They fly out – we’re never taking those off the menu.’
Besides oysters, visitors can also enjoy some rather spectacular scallops. ‘At the moment we’ve got king scallops on our menu which are literally amazing,’ she says. For those who are dipping their toe into the world of seafood, there’s a non-raw side to the menu too. ‘The customer preferences are split 50/50 between raw and cooked. You would be quite surprised at how many people just go for the raw because they want to taste the oyster, and essentially you’re just tasting the sea.’
Having thoroughly tested the waters of oyster life, can Liberty offer some insight into why we can’t get enough of them at the moment? ‘We love them – they’re fun, social, and special,’ she says. Liberty explains that she evens sees the kids getting involved at pop-ups, eager to be part of what the grown-ups are doing. ‘The kids are always interested because obviously they look really different to just getting a burger or something,’ she says. ‘Nine times out of 10, they absolutely love them and they’re screaming for more. Why wouldn’t you want some kind of bougie oysters or something a little bit different at a festival?’
The coming year is certainly looking busy for Liberty and Sam, with plenty planned for The O Co, and when we speak they’re preparing to attend the Wylam Brewery New Year’s Eve celebrations. ‘It’s a huge thanks to the team at Wylam Brewery because they invited us on our first Food Battle and it’s literally taken off ever since then,’ she says. ‘Obviously we don’t actually have a premises at the moment, but on our Instagram we have upcoming highlights so you can see it there.’
As well as events, expect some exciting collaborations coming up too, including with Northern Monk, and businesses in London who reached out shortly after The O Co launched. ‘At the time we were finding our feet and we didn’t want to get too far in, so we’ll be looking at some cool stuff with them next year,’ Liberty explains. ‘We’ve also got set menus with some local bars and restaurants which we’re going to be putting in dates for, and then we’ve got a lot of weddings booked in. Obviously, we’ve got the festival dates for spring and summer, so they’ll all be added to the highlights on our Instagram.’
As she prepares for a year of introducing the North East to The O Co, Liberty offers some advice on tackling your first oyster. ‘For me, it’s all or nothing, I promise you will be converted, they’re absolutely to die for,’ she says. ‘My business partner Sam would always be quite sensible with it and say get the over-fire options. They’re a great induction. But for me, I say no half-measures.’
