Coastal Connections

Written By Nancy Pardue

Listen carefully … hear the ocean waves crashing?

Shuck ’Em Shack Oyster Bar has brought the beach to Garner, offering freshly delivered specialties from the coast. Open the screen door and come on in!

The restaurant is a new venture for locals Phil and Erica Banks, also both active real estate agents in the Garner area. “We love the beach, but my heart is in Garner,” said Phil. “If we couldn’t do this here, I didn’t want to do it.”

While the Banks family is enjoying entrepreneurship, customers are enjoying a menu of fried and steamed seafood and other specialties. Most requested dishes are the oysters, shrimp and wings.

“The shrimp are big, nice and fat, and we’ve got three different seasonings for them,” Banks said. “And the oysters … they just taste really good.”

For wings, by far the most popular topping is the house Shack Sauce; Banks calls it “ranch-y, orangey, and spicy, different than most.”

Also on the landlubber menu are a special house burger, sandwiches and “the best chicken salad ever.”

“Everybody can find something to eat here,” Banks said, including families and couples who stop by to enjoy a meal between movie showings at the adjacent White Oak Cinemas.

Daily lunch specials offer menu favorites such as flounder or crab cake plates, sandwiches and more for $7.99, with take-out available.

Shuck ’Em Shack seats 48, with the patio opening in April to add sun and breeze to its beach-style way of dining.

Shuck ’Em Shack Oyster Bar
1177 Timber Drive East, Garner
(919) 772-7035