Dining
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
The shrimp cocktail features shrimp, diced avocado, red onion, tomato, cilantro and serrano peppers.
The Raw Oysters are sourced three times a week from the Gulf of Mexico.
A variety of seafood dishes served at Big Shucks and Aw Shucks, including snow crab legs.
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Big Shucks brings fresh seafood and beachfront atmosphere to Richardson location
Bob Peterson opened Aw Shucks Oyster Bar in 1983 with the goal of bringing an authentic seafood shack to Dallas. More than 40 years later, the restaurant has opened four additional locations including Big Shucks in Richardson and Aw Shucks in Frisco, but the restaurant hasn’t deviated from that original goal under the ownership of Bob’s sons—Nick and Eric Peterson. “We want to make it as comfortable and inviting as possible, just like a seafood shack on the side of the ocean,” Nick said. On the menu The food at Big Shucks revolves around sourcing fresh seafood three times a week and preparing it “very simply,” Nick said. “We are going to do gulf seafood on your plate as fresh as we possibly can get it,” Eric said. “That’s the secret. The secret is that there is no secret. It’s not a matter of having a ve star Michelin chef in the back, or anything like that. We get good stu , and we don’t compromise on that ever.” The most popular dishes on the menu include raw oysters, the house specialty shrimp cocktail, crab legs and fried Mississippi cat sh. “Mississippi cat sh doesn’t have a muddy avor, it’s all fresh, and it’s really good stu ,” Nick said.
Popular non-seafood options include hushpup- pies and bu alo wings. The background The Peterson brothers recall sitting on the original Aw Shucks patio as kids while their father prepared to open the restaurant. “He didn’t have money for permits, let alone plumbers, so he would be there in the middle of the night, jackhammering up the oor and laying down the drains and drain system,” Nick said. “We found it incredibly boring sitting on the patio of an unopened restaurant, but it’s very nostalgic now.” From humble beginnings, the restaurant became a “local hangout” in Dallas, and Nick said the Richardson and Frisco locations have become the same in their communities. “It took time, but it’s become the local spot to stop by on your way home and meet up with your neighbors or friends,” he said. He added that Big Shucks and Aw Shucks have regulars that come in four or ve times per week from “all walks of life.” “We consider ourselves a little United Nations in that regard,” Nick said. “It brings in all types, and that makes it fun. You can just kind of relax and let your hair down.”
From left, Aw Shucks owners Eric and Nick Peterson stand with a photograph of their father, Bob Peterson.
N
103 S. Coit Road, Richardson www.awshucksdallas.com
19
RICHARDSON EDITION
Powered by FlippingBook