The City of Mansfield Now Has Its First Ever Oyster Bar
A new fast and casual 18-unit oyster bar concept will open its doors just before the start of the New Year in Mansfield at 1826 Cannon Drive. But this new national chain called Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar has an interesting history in terms of who owns it.
This new location is owned and operated by former attorney April Yaeger and her spouse, and current railroad employee KJ Yaeger. Together, these lifelong business leaders were fed up with working long hours for other people and decided to take over a fast-growing franchise to work for themselves.
“We’ve been running businesses for others for years,” KJ said. “We both worked long days – sometimes 18 hours. There were times I slept on my desk. After doing this for other people, we decided it was our turn to do it for ourselves and be able to support others who work for us.”
April said she had the idea of looking into some sort of franchise as a way for her and KJ to have their own business. But it wasn’t until April took a trip to the East Coast that she was inspired to consider a stake in the Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise.
“My friend and I flew out to visit several locations and I started talking to the team about opening one in Texas,” April explained. “I thought about an ice cream concept, but decided on something more complex. That’s when I started getting interested in seafood. Once I found Shuckin’ Shack, I never really ran away—I just said, ‘This is it’.”
April added that given the couple’s past business experience, a format where “you take what the franchisor gives you and go with it” is particularly appealing.
“Having the Yaegers in our system only adds to the incredible culture inside,” said Jonathan Weathington, CEO of Shuckin’ Shack. “Not only are they a great fit based on their past experience, but they’re just good people with the right motivation to start their own Shuckin’ Shack. We couldn’t be more excited to open in Mansfield.”
Currently, Shuckin’ Shack has grown to 18 locations in six states and will soon expand to seven, with several more locations slated to open by the end of 2022. Not bad for a franchise that started in a 900-square-foot shack in Carolina Beach, North Carolina in 2007. In 2014, Shuckin’ Shack started franchising and the rest grew from there.
To learn more about Shuckin’ Shack, visit http://www.theshuckinshack.com.
