SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — What started in 2017 as a small taco shack in Surf City to serve surfers a quick, healthy bite has blossomed into four eateries crossing into Hampstead and Wilmington.
READ MORE: Shaka Taco, beer garden coming to Hampstead golf course
Shaka Taco is now serving diners in Pour Taproom, located in The Murchison Building at 201 N. Front St. — a partnership between brewpub owner Brian Ballard and Shaka restaurateurs Cody Leutgens and Steve Christian. The restaurant has been operating for two weeks now in downtown Wilmington, serving the Shaka Taco menu and getting the Pour Taproom team familiar with the food.
Items include tacos, nachos, quesadillas and wings, with the goal to bring in taco bowls eventually. Before Leutgens and Christian entered the partnership with Ballard, Pour Taproom served sandwiches, flatbreads and pub fare; those items are no longer available.
“We’re just trying to dip our feet in,” Leutgens said, adding guest feedback has been positive so far and will help further define the menu. “We don’t want waitstaff to feel overwhelmed and we want to make sure they are equipped.”
The Shaka Taco crew have brought in members from their 170-deep employee pool to run the kitchen. After the Covid-19 pandemic, like much of the industry, Pour Taproom faced staffing issues, with Ballard often in the kitchen picking up the load.
The brewpub owner met Christian and Leutgens after acquiring downtown’s Ironclad Brewery from Ted Coughlin. As well, Coughlin owned Ironclad Golf and Beer Garden — formerly Belvedere Golf Course — in Hampstead. Christian and Leutgens bought the range and beer garden last June.
“We’ve just been nose to the grindstone,” Leutgens said.
The restaurateurs opened the second Shaka Taco location at Ironclad Golf and Beer Garden last year, followed by a satellite spot at UNCW’s Hawk’s Nest in August 2022. The latter will kick back into gear as students return to campus for the fall semester.
Each restaurant’s menu may vary some — açai bowls is a main item on UNCW’s campus but will not be offered downtown. Shaka Taco’s famed fried fish taco won’t be available downtown either, as there isn’t a fryer on site. However, there are plenty of other offerings — chicken, shrimp, beef and veggies — and the taco crew continue to shop fresh weekly at area farmers’ markets to devise new specials, sauces and rubs.
For instance, one-of-a-kind holiday flavors may be featured, such as the corned beef taco with horseradish-mustard slaw, caramelized onions, and chopped parsley during St. Patrick’s Day.
Last week, the Surf City location had fresh tilefish from Surf City Crab Seafood Market, which was topped with a homemade hot blueberry sauce.
Recently, Leutgens said they added new summertime menu items to its locations, such as the tuna BLT. It features locally caught tuna, blackened with its homemade chili lime rub, topped with cabbage, North Carolina bacon, locally grown tomatoes and homemade chipotle sauce.
“So it’s crunchy, a little sweet, a little spicy — a bit of everything,” he said.
The downtown Wilmington operation will offer delivery to those in the immediate vicinity.
“It’s basically a service industry thing or if somebody’s in their office and they want to order, we can accommodate that and run it over to you,” Leutgens said.
The restaurant launched online ordering last week for convenience, and according to Leutgens, “the tickets just started printing immediately.”
Despite the competition nearby — Islands, Beer Barrio, the incoming Tequila Comida and Cantina, and Bonita Latin Fusion and Cocteleria at Pier 33 — the owner said everyone’s style is different enough to stand on its own.
Their recent expansions came organically and aren’t necessarily part of a larger operational footprint Leutgens and Christian have mapped out in a business plan. They grew up in Pender County with the goal to bring fresh food options to a walk-up window on Topsail Island — something that went beyond fried chicken sandwiches and burgers.
“Very quickly, that grew into building picnic tables to three large patios and having multiple locations, and we’re grateful,” Leutgens said. “We’ve been fortunate.”
As to whether that growth will continue farther south into Brunswick County, he said he’s asked the question frequently — even by his mom. But the businessmen are cautious on their plans.
“We don’t have to rush anything, but rather we want to do it right the first time,” Leutgens said. “If we do expand or franchise, I imagine it will be within our Shaka family, one of those people who have been with us for a long time. I would be much more apt to help someone succeed that I know personally versus somebody who says, ‘Hey, I got all this money and I want to buy your restaurant.’”
Hours downtown are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday until 9 p.m.
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