Buck-a-shuck oysters in Toronto are one of those blissful things that have always felt a little too-good-to-be-true, but these days, inflation means that the days of buck-a-shuck are numbered — if not up entirely.

What used to be a beloved — albeit low-margin — tradition for restaurants all over the city is rapidly disappearing before the eyes of eager seafood lovers, or transforming by scaling up for inflation.

Chantecler  in Bloorcourt, for example, used to host one of the busiest buck-a-shuck nights in the city, blowing through 600-800 oysters in a single night, Jacob Wharton-Shukster, owner of Chantecler tells blogTO.

The concept, he admits, was never profitable, but was so popular that it was worth it, and with volume discounts, it meant that the restaurant could break even on their buck-a-shuck nights.

Even if they didn't make a profit, Jacob says, "it was just a nice thing for our regulars."

In recent years, though Chantecler has has to increase their prices to $2 an oyster (which, he points out, "is an absolutely wild deal,") due to a wage growth of nearly 100 per cent in the front of house, paired with oysters now costing about double what they used to.

"Economically, [we] can't offer [buck-a-shuck] anymore," he says, but the restaurant continues to offer $2 oysters every day between 5 and 6 p.m., "because it's nice."

Jason Kun, of Island Oysters, who operate both a restaurant and wholesale, echoes this — but does say that, for his business, buck-a-shuck oysters have never been on the menu.

"The lowest wholesale price we have seen for a good cocktail oyster was $0.75 and that was over 5 years ago," he tells blogTO. 

"When you factor in the other costs of running a restaurant or even a small catering company, at $1 per oyster the business would be losing money."

Oyster prices have been steadily increasing over the past 10 years, Jason tells blogTO, with the greatest increase happening, unsurprisingly, over the past two.

What might come as a surprise, though, is the fact that, according to Jason, oyster prices have been relatively stable compared to other food and operating costs — but consumer prices on the briny delicacies have been rising more significantly.

That being said, though, Island Oysters does host 'Shuck-Fifty' nights, where you can get your hands on oysters for $1.50 a piece, "as a way to fill [the] restaurant," says Jason, but even that offer may have to soon go to the wayside.

"I think Buck-a-shucks will be come a thing of thing of the past as it may not be feasible for restaurants to continue to offer oysters at such a low price," he tells blogTO.

"For Island Oysters, we might also need to raise our prices. Shuck Seventy Five doesn't sound so bad does it?"

It makes sense. When the prices of, well, everything in Toronto seem to be skyrocketing, why should an aging tradition exist in a vacuum, outside of inflation?

That doesn't mean the simple bliss of gorging oneself on a dozen-or-more oysters for less than the price of a single cocktail won't be sorely missed, but maybe it's time to move on.

There are still a few unicorns in Toronto who are still offering buck-a-shuck nights, like Leslieville's Poor Romeo, who still offers $1 oysters every Wednesday night, and Bar Hop, who offer the deal every Monday and Tuesday with the caveat that you have to order a drink.