Inside the million dollar renovation transforming Lake Wylie’s former T-Bones into Papa Doc’s Shore Club

Papa Doc’s Shore Club will take the landmark space formerly occupied by T-Bones.

Located at 3990 Charlotte Highway, the 6,000-square-foot restaurant with 38 boat slips has been a fixture for casual dining and drinking on the lake for 24 years.

Bottle Cap has funneled nearly a million dollars into renovating the space which features four bars and seating for 650. An opening date hasn’t yet been set but they’re just wrapping up finishing touches and awaiting their liquor license so it will be soon, likely on an order of weeks.

What about the name? Bottle Cap president and CEO Britton McCorkle selected the name as an ode to a dive bar his stepfather and business partner Tom Wicker operated on South Boulevard in the 70s called Papa Doc’s. A framed newspaper clipping from the original bar hangs in the new location. Nevertheless, Papa Doc is also the nickname of brutal Haitian dictator François Duvalier who ruled from 1957 to 1971 — making the name choice an ill-advised PR move.

The restaurant is divided into five zones — main dining room, mezzanine dining room, The Anchor lounge, a tiki bar and the waterfront deck.

Main dining room – Large open space with lots of windows overlooking the deck and water

Mezzanine dining room – Upstairs seating for 120 and an additional second floor bar (available for private rentals)

The Anchor – Dark, moody bar lounge with a huge Papa Doc mural by Artisan Rooms

Tiki bar – Themed space with tiki hut booths, colorful murals, roll-up garage doors overlooking the water and an indoor/outdoor bar

Waterfront deck – Central bar hut and outdoor seating for 120 — plus 38 boat slips for people coming straight off the water

The extensive menu features steamed and fried seafood platters, oysters, burgers, salads, sandwiches, tacos and bar appetizers.

It’s a casual spot but you can certainly drop some cash. Entree prices range from an $11 cheeseburger to a $38 16-oz ribeye.

Check out the tequila bacon mussels ($13), Smack Down shrimp ($11), seared tuna tacos ($11.50) and mac & cheese burger ($13).

Want to really go all in? The Big Papa ($100) includes 1 pound of king crab legs, 1 pound of snow crab legs, 2 pounds of shrimp and a dozen oysters.

For dessert they’ve got floats, a pan cookie topped with ice cream and nine milkshake flavors, including the Lucky Leprechaun with Lucky Charms and marshmallow fluff.

Here’s a look at the full Papa Doc’s Shore Club menu:

Behind the bar, you can expect playful pouches, La Croix Becky Buckets, tiki cocktails, large-format shareable bowls and frozen beach drinks.

Cocktails are priced $7-11 and shareable bowls are $25.

Here’s a look at the full Papa Doc’s Shore Club bar menus:

If you’re coming from the water, Papa Doc’s has 38 boat slips to accommodate lake traffic.

They’ll have deckhands available to greet you and will be rolling out to-go food service straight to the docks once the kitchen has been up and running for a bit.

Take a look around…

Papa Doc’s will be absolutely slammed this summer. Stay tuned for an opening date.