Business owner to open seafood place with option for 3rd location

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As Bees Ferry Road continues to explode with housing, the West Ashley Circle Center is expanding to meet the growing needs of residents.

Harris Teeter, and its new gas station, anchors the center, with a Starbucks, a veterinarian’s office, a dentist, Mexican restaurant, salon and more packing the parking lot at any given time or day.

The newest neighbor to the center is a seafood restaurant, which already has patrons clamoring for the doors to open.

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar is the second restaurant owned by Jason Thorpe, who currently owns and operates the Summerville franchise of the same name. He has a letter of intent to open a third restaurant in the near future.

Shuckin’ Shack specializes in shrimp, mussels and clams, with non-seafood offerings for landlubbers and eight beers on tap.

“We’re really focused on fresh seafood, high-quality seafood and a great atmosphere,” Thorpe said. “It’s kind of our culture and what we try and serve up.”

The first Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar opened in Carolina Beach, N.C., in 2017 as a 900-square-foot eatery serving seafood. Seven years later, the restaurant franchised and now has 16 locations across five states.

Thorpe, who has spent almost two decades in the food and beverage industry, first signed on as a franchisee in December 2014, opening his Summerville restaurant the following April.

The demographics of the Grand Oaks location drew him in for location number two, particularly with traffic from the neighboring Shadow Moss, Hunt Club and Ashton Woods’ newest Pointe at Rhodes Crossing.

The 2,200-square-foot space, with 1,100 square feet for dining, has 11 tables and bar seats to serve around 70 people at a time.

Thorpe is close to completing renovations on the space before he shoots to open later this month. Final touches include 10 televisions, all with NFL Sunday Ticket.

“We’re hoping to be the restaurant of choice, the bar of choice for all the residents around us that are looking for that kind of sports bar,” Thorpe said.