The Summer of Shuckin’: Why Summer 2021 is About to Be Our BIGGEST Summer Yet! 

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on restaurants globally. In fact, year-over-year, seated diners in United States restaurants decreased by 60.4% on average between 2019 and 2020. As a result of the decline, industry experts expected the restaurant industry to lose up to $240 billion by the end of 2020. 

Sadly, as a result of several lockdowns, shelter-in-place orders, and the decline in customers and revenue, many restaurants didn’t make it through the pandemic.

Fortunately, though, there is some cause for optimism. For example, with the average change in seated diners only being 41% lower compared to 2019, September and October 2020 kickstarted the post-pandemic recovery. Also, as of December 23, 89% of United States restaurants were again accepting reservations.

Despite this turmoil in the industry, Shuckin’ Shack actually thrived and made it through the pandemic without too much trouble. In fact, it’s going swimmingly. 

But now the question is why? Or maybe phrased differently, why now may be a good time for you to invest in a Shuckin’ Shack franchise? In this post, we’ll look at some of the reasons in more detail and show you why a Shuckin’ Shack seafood franchise may be the catch of the century when it comes to restaurant franchises.

The Pre-COVID World

Even before the pandemic started, full-service franchising was staging a massive comeback. You see, casual dining dominated the American dining landscape for over 50 years. 

As a result of this growth and domination, the category exploded in the 1980s and 90s with various big players popping up everywhere. Then the inevitable happened, these brands started franchising to support their rapid growth. 

And with franchising, comes institutionalization. The stores’ square footage grew, and with it, their quirkiness went out the back door. As a result, by the early 2000s customers started turning away from full-service franchises.

But the tide turned with several new players entering the industry and providing the quirks of old that customers loved so much. Here, Shuckin’ Shack played its role in reviving the love for full-service franchises.

From the beginning, it was our goal to differentiate ourselves from other similar establishments. In fact, it was this market differentiation that was central to our decision to start franchising in 2014. It’s also this differentiation that led to our growth and popularity.

But then COVID hit. It threw a heavy anchor that instantly dragged down the comeback effort. As a result, many franchises were left high and dry without customers, and unfortunately, without revenue.

Yet, despite this, we sailed through the many sink-or-swim tests 2020 gave us, and here we are, stronger than ever. In fact, we kicked off 2021 with some of our most impressive sales numbers to date. Actually, we maintained million dollar* restaurants during the pandemic, and this year, we’re already on track for a record-breaking year.

As such, we do not doubt that we’ll continue to grow and that we’ll be able to capitalize on 2021 which will present substantial growth opportunities.

Why Invest in a Shuckin’ Shack Seafood Franchise Now?

Let’s face it, humans are social animals. If it is one thing that the pandemic has done, it’s to remind us of the psychological benefits of gathering with friends and family. It also reminded us about the importance of restaurants as a gathering place for these special moments and memories.

It’s been far too long now that people have been prevented from going to restaurants, bars, and other establishments to meet up with friends and family. So, when people are able, as they soon will be, to go back to restaurants the demand will be immense.

The perfect point to illustrate this is that after our Cumming, Georgia location shut down as a result of the lockdowns, the local Shuckin’ Shack was so ingrained in the community that, when they opened, there was a line out the door. And we believe this will happen to all our other locations as an increasing number of people start dining out again. 

It goes further than people’s need to dine out, though. A major part of our success is also that we’re unique. Remember the differentiation referred to above? Simple, if we asked you to name one other oyster franchise, you probably couldn’t. 

With only a few other casual-dining seafood franchises nationwide focusing solely on fresh oysters and other shellfish, chances are that the local Shuckin’ Shack franchise won’t just be the best oyster bar in town, it will probably be the only one.

This means we have next to no competition. So, there will always be a stream of people that want to eat oysters and seafood in a fun, laid-back comfortable environment. Sure, many people learned some cooking skills during the pandemic because they couldn’t go out, but very few are brave enough to even try a massive seafood fry up at home. So, we allow them to have excellent quality seafood, good company, and fun without going through the hassle.

And, of course, we shouldn’t forget that, as a result of the contraction in the restaurant industry, many restaurants have closed down permanently. So, as sad as it is, new, amazing, and cheap real estate opportunities will now become available. It’s therefore never been easier and more affordable than now to source cool, second-generation restaurant spaces.

In addition, new Franchise Owners can now take advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in history which enables them to keep their overheads low. 

Ultimately, we have, throughout the pandemic, proven that we have a resilient and robust business model that can withstand challenges. This makes for a formidable business concept and an inviting investment opportunity.

All this creates a perfect storm of circumstances that makes it a perfect time to invest in a Shuckin’ Shack franchise. And just think about it, it will take months to attend training, secure a location, and go through the construction and build-out process. 

This means any new Franchise Owners will be opening their doors right when sailing is expected to be smoother for us all.

What Makes Our Seafood Franchise Special?

Now you may ask what makes Shuckin’ Shack special? And it’s a perfectly valid question. So let’s give you the answer straight up. Our sustainably, responsibly sourced oysters and seafood just taste better. In fact, our sustainably sourced seafood beats even the fanciest places, hands-down.

Apart from tasting great, sustainability is extremely important to us. We live at the coast and we understand the actual impact the choices we make have on the environment. As such, sustainability is part of our business model.

This is simply because oysters and other sea life need our help to stay well-stocked and plentiful. If they don’t, we rob future generations of seafood lovers of the pleasure that we have today.

That’s why we’re committed to serving only sustainably sourced, domestic seafood that has been caught responsibly by our vast network of certified vendors. We do this through our partnership with the James Beard Foundation’s Smart Catch program, our work with the Oyster Shell Recycling Program, and our Ocean Friendly Establishment certification.

And this is vital in today’s market where consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about their health, the ecosystem, and climate change. So, this not only shows that we care but also attracts our customers who value the oceans as much as we do.

Okay, so now we’ve shown you our oysters are fantastic and our seafood is sustainably sourced. So, we’ve taken care of our customers and the environment. But what about you, our prospective Franchise Owner? Well, we’re happy to say that our people are just as important to us as our customers are.

We’ll be there with you every step of the way to help you successfully navigate the waters of Shuckin’ Shack operations. To do that we give you extensive support and training. You remember the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Exactly!

Training

We provide our franchise owners with over 140 hours of comprehensive hands-on and classroom training at our exclusive “Shuck You” training program. These training classes cover everything from finances and inventory management to front and back of house operations, and much more.

Ongoing Support

After a Franchise Owner has opened a Shuckin’ Shack franchise, we provide extensive ongoing support. As such, our Franchise Owners have personalized assistance and advice from a support network of fellow Franchise Owners and they have weekly communication from our corporate team members.

They also have access to our communication application that keeps them up to date with the latest video and photo content, corporate directions, and more. 

As a result, we give them everything they need to operate a successful Shuckin’ Shack franchise. In addition, we also develop local store action plans, video training, and shopper reports that help Franchise Owners drive success.

Field Support

When it comes to field support, we don’t throw our Franchise Owners in the deep end. We give them extensive assistance with site selection, build-out, design, and even their soft and grand openings. As such, our dedicated real estate support team will be with them every step of the way to select the site, negotiate a lease, and build their empire.

Marketing Support

Last but not least, our extensive marketing support enables Franchise Owners to create awareness in their community and attract more customers. And if they attract more customers, they make more money.

Here, we give them marketing assistance with the soft and grand opening, social media support, advertising and buy assistance.

We also provide them with an annual promotional calendar with quarterly marketing directions and promotions and we have an in-house graphic designer and public and media relations team that optimize the messaging we put out there.

What’s the Catch?

Wait, we’re telling you that you can have the best seafood and oyster restaurant franchise in town with endless possibilities for profit and remarkable opportunities for growth. What’s the catch?

Actually, there are only a few. For one, you’ll need a minimum investment amount of at least $252,700. This includes the initial franchise fee of $45,000 and things like a training and opening fee, initial inventory, real estate or rent, signage, decor, and other opening costs. It basically covers everything you need to open your doors and start serving customers.

Considering that our average net sales per store are $987,901*, it’s easy to see why this is an excellent investment opportunity. But it goes further than just making money. With this investment, you can tell corporate America to go Shuck itself. You’ll be the captain of your own ship, plain and simple.

Even if you don’t have the capital, you’ll be able to do this as our recent partnership with the nation’s leading small-business funding organization, Benetrends enables you to finance your dream of having your own business now instead of later. 

In addition, we also require that you have liquid capital of $250,000 and a net worth of $600,000. 

That’s it, that’s all you need and in return, you’ll get a profitable business where you can keep on giving back to your community, generate a healthy income, and have fun while doing it. 

* Numbers obtained from our 2021 FDD.

The Bottom Line

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on the restaurant industry. Because of nationwide lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, restaurants inevitably had to close their doors and find new ways of generating revenue.

Fortunately, it seems that a revival is starting to happen and that, as restrictions are being lifted, more people will go out for a good meal, fun, and good times.

And this is what Shuckin’ Shack specializes in. In fact, we passed all the tests 2020 threw our way and we kicked off 2021 with some of our most impressive sales numbers to date.

This is simply because of our formidable business concept that is robust enough to withstand challenges.

But this also makes it an excellent investment opportunity and for a reasonably small investment, you’ll be able to own your own Shuckin’ Shack. If you want to know more about owning one, or need more information about our brand, visit our website for more details.

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