Skrimp Shack, the “Five Guys of fried seafood,” now open in Pineville

Skrimp Shack is a fried seafood chain with about 20 locations, almost entirely in Virginia. Husband-and-wife founders Mitch and Stacy Hartman started the concept as a shack on the side of a road in Virginia.

Given the popularity of their no-frills concept, Mitch told me they’ll have about 40 locations by the end of 2019.

Local franchisee Bryan Leybold plans on opening three restaurants in Charlotte and is searching for real estate in Plaza Midwood, South End and/or University City.

The exact location is 8228 Pineville-Mathews Road, Suite 301. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 10:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and  closed on Sunday and Monday.

Never heard of Skrimp Shack? Me neither. Mitch told me that he considers Skrimp Shack to be the “Five Guys of seafood.”

“It’s more like a Five Guys than a Chick-fil-A,” Mitch told me.

That’s a high bar. Only time will tell if they can pull it off, but Facebook and Yelp ratings of existing locations are around 4.5/5, so there’s evidence that people love it.

Here are the four most popular menu items at Skrimp Shack:

• Super Catfish Sandwich ($7.35) – 3/4 of a pound in weight

• CrabMeat n Skrimp Po Boy ($10.85) – large shrimp with crab meat drenched in secret sauce
• Whiting Sandwich ($5.75) – 3/4 of a pound in weight
• Skrimp N Fish Basket ($7.25) – 4 large shrimp and 2 pieces of Whiting (make it catfish for $.50 more or another fish for $2 more).

You can add a side like macaroni and cheese or fried okra and a drink for $3.50 more.