After establishing the Grouper Shack in St. Augustine, the owner of the seafood restaurant plans to open a second location in November in Jacksonville Beach.
Owner Nathan Stuart is building-out the restaurant at 1700 Third St. S., formerly The Bearded Pig.
He opened the first Grouper Shack at 230 Nix Boat Yard Road in the Cat’s Paw Marina in St. Augustine.
Stuart also owns The Boathouse seafood restaurants in Ponte Vedra and St. Augustine, Outback Crab Shack on County Road 13, and Fish House & Oyster Co. locations in Orange Park, Tallahassee, New Berlin and Julington Creek.
Grouper Shack is fast-casual with most meals under $20. It also has a full bar.
Its baskets are a half pound of seafood with fries and slaw. They include fried clam strips, fried cod, mahi, trigger, shrimp, grouper, crab cakes and scallops priced from $16 to $19. Fish is prepared blackened, grilled or fried.
The restaurant serves oysters (market price), crab legs ($18 per pound) and a 1-pound whole lobster ($20).
“The Grouper Shack in St. Augustine is extremely successful. The price point for fresh seafood is by far the lowest in North Florida,” Stuart said.
Sides lean toward Southern dishes including bacon collard greens, sweet mash casserole, white beans and ham and Southern cabbage. Each costs $4.
Micamy Design Studio is the contractor and Stuart estimated the cost to convert the Bearded Pig into Grouper Shack at $1 million. The restaurant will seat about 150, encompassing the interior and the outdoor patio and play area. Stuart is redoing the interior with booths and other seating.
Stuart said he was attracted to the Jacksonville Beach location for several reasons.
“It’s a stand-alone building with a self-sustainable parking lot,” he said.
“It’s easy to get to. It’s in the middle of South Jacksonville Beach. People from Ponte Vedra can come as well as Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach. I think it is going to be massive.”
Like the St. Augustine location, it will have a replica of a huge grouper hanging outside.
“Every day I pull up, there’s someone standing in front of that thing,” he said.
The Grouper Shack location will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. On Sundays, when NFL games finish past 10 p.m., it will stay open until the conclusion of the games.