How Famous Bar Owners in Pop Culture Could Have Benefited from Investing in a Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar Franchise
We’re a fun, down-to-earth brand at Shuckin’ Shack, not the usual type of high-collared, fancy-pants seafood restaurant. We have ice-cold beer on tap instead of $200 Cali Cabernets by the bottle and more creative cocktails than you can imagine, thanks to our talented bartenders. Looking for a shot of Louis XIII cognac? You won’t find it here! In the mood for a 25-year single-malt Scotch? Well, we might have that one on the top shelf, but you get the point.
Great bar franchise opportunities don’t come around very often, and if you ask us, the trick to a successful launch is getting started on the right foot. Honestly, people have genuine connections with their favorite restaurants and bars, and it really is about building those relationships from the very beginning.
It’s a fascinating phenomenon because when people find a bar they like, they’ll be loyal to it until the End of Days. And pop culture echoes that sentiment beautifully in the fictional bars on TV and in the movies we’ve come to know and love, so here’s how they would have benefited by opening up a Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar Franchise instead.
1 – Cheers
We’ll just get Cheers out of the way for the Gen-X crowd because it’s arguably the most iconic dive in American pop culture to this very day. In the 80’s sitcom, Cheers’ bar was a get-away, a place to feel at home after a hard day where you could sit at the same spot and laugh it up for hours. So, what’s the problem? Well, in case you forgot, Cheers didn’t serve food at all, and it’s a shame because a business with that much brand power would have made a killing with a better business concept. In the Cheers world, you’d have to stumble out into the street looking for something to soak up the booze Ted Danson poured to the rim, sans the laugh track from a live studio audience.
2 – The Drunken Clam
Now, the Drunken Clam from Family Guy is close to a Shuckin’ Shack, minus the tomfoolery and martini-chugging dogs. You have the cozy atmosphere, the loyal following, and the unexpected punchlines, but where’s the seafood? You have to tackle your local market in the bar business, and serving seafood would’ve made the Drunken Clam into a national sensation instead of the hole-in-the-wall dive in Rhode Island. But Horace isn’t exactly the shrewdest businessman, now is he?
3 – Mos Eisley Cantina
If you’ve never seen the Star Wars movies, where have you been for the last five decades? It’s an epic saga, and in case you forgot, there’s a rowdy bar in the first movie A New Hope called the Mos Eisley Cantina. You have the bouncy music, the crowded vibe, and the colorful cast of characters, some of them literally little green men, playing what appears to be some kind of clarinet or bassoon. Wild, huh? Well, everything’s all well and good until the lasers start zipping overhead and the lightsabers start to hum. It got rowdy in the cantina, so if Mos Eisley had a Shuckin’ Shack instead, it would’ve been much more laid back, not a saloon with crabby aliens looking for trouble.
4 – Jack Rabbit Slim’s
Pulp Fiction’s second act would’ve been slow and tedious without John Travolta’s forced date with Uma Thurman at Jack Rabbit Slim’s. Now, Slim’s had it close to the mark. There was the clearly identifiable concept, a 50’s throwback all the way down to the jargon, and a packed house. But where Slim’s went wrong is by limiting their brand by going a little overboard with everything. The bar is like the ’50s. We get it. Still, who can forget the dance competition scene? It’s great for a film, but just imagine what else Slim’s could’ve done with that much open area! We think a Shuckin’ Shack would’ve killed it in Pulp Fiction, so what about you, Peggie Sue?
5 – Moe’s Tavern
Aside from Cheers, Moe’s Tavern ranks in the top three most famous fictional bars of all time, and that’s saying a lot. Moe’s skits are hilarious because there’s a dash of truth in each joke, the Simpsons’ hallmark for decades. So, how could Moe have benefited from a Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar? Well, for starters, the atmosphere inside the place wouldn’t be as drab and plain. The inside would’ve had way more energy, maybe enough zip to wake up Barney from a bar-top slumber. Someone get that man a dozen oysters and fried appetizers stat, please!
6 – Rick’s Cafe Americain
Now, we finish our countdown with a classic: Rick’s Cafe Americain in the legendary film Casablanca. We know it’s just a movie, but do you remember how dark and moody the atmosphere was? The background takes place during World War II with Nazi sympathizers around every corner, but let’s get off the gas a bit, Rick. Why not liven up the vibe with seafood since the bar already served food? Going to a bar is great and all, but we are more loyal to the places where we can also eat. That’s a fact of the business, and we have our guests to thank for it. Here’s lookin’ at you, Shuckin’ Shack regulars!
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6 – The Double Deuce
If you think Mos Eisley Cantina was a little rough, you haven’t seen The Double Deuce in the movie Roadhouse. Once again, the stereotype of a rowdy bar with fisticuffs every night comes through, and it’s a shame because the vast majority of places aren’t like that at all. There might be a few guys rough around the edges, but those are your best regulars, provided you keep them in line, which is where Patrick Swayze shined through. If your bar needs a bouncer, it’s a pretty good indication that your patrons are bored to the gills, so the easiest way to throw cold water on a hot temper is to entertain them. If that doesn’t work, there’s always Swayze time.