Courtesy of Shukin' Shack Oyster Bar
A new 18-unit fast and casual oyster bar concept is set to open its doors just before the New Year touches down, in Mansfield located at 1826 Cannon Drive. But this new national chain, called the Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar, has an interesting story in the form of who its owners are.
This new location is owned and operated by former legal professional April Yaeger and her spouse, and current railroad employee KJ Yaeger. Together, these lifelong business leaders got tired of working long hours for other people and decided to take on a fast-growing franchise in order to work for themselves.
“We’ve run businesses for other people for years,” KJ said. “We both worked long days — sometimes 18 hours. There were times that 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 provide a living for others who work for us.”
April said she had the idea of looking into a franchise of some sort as a possibility 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 look at getting involved in the Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise.
“My friend and I flew out to visit several locations, and I began talking to the team about opening one up in Texas,” April explained. “I thought about an ice cream concept but decided I wanted something a bit more involved. That’s when I started looking at seafood. Once I found Shuckin’ Shack, I never really strayed away — I just knew ‘this is it.’”
April added that, with all of the couple’s prior business experience, a format where “you take what the franchisor gives you and run with it” was especially appealing.
“Having the Yaegers in our system only adds to the incredible culture within,” Shuckin’ Shack CEO Jonathan Weathington says. “Not only are they a great fit from their previous experience, but they’re just good people with the right motivations for opening their own Shuckin’ Shack. We couldn’t be more excited to be opening in Mansfield.”
Currently, Shuckin' Shack has grown to 19 locations across seven states, with several more locations slated to open by the end of 2022. Not bad for a franchise that started out in a 900-square-foot actual shack in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, in 2007. In 2014, Shuckin’ Shack began franchising and the rest grew from there.
To learn more about Shuckin’ Shack, visit http://www.theshuckinshack.com.
