When Coco Shrimp founders Isaac Hadley and Jordan Barrus were attending college in Hawaii, they worked in a food truck that served shrimp, according to Ariana Escobar, a manager of the Coco Shrimp restaurant on Heritage Trace Parkway in Fort Worth.

“They said they should open a food truck with coconut shrimp with all the cool flavors they found in Hawaii,” Escobar said. “They wanted to incorporate the culture they learned while in college to our area of Texas.”

Daniele Perez, Coco Shrimp director of operations, wrote in an email that Coco Shrimp began as a food truck in 2015. The first brick-and-mortar location opened in 2019 on Bryan Avenue in Fort Worth. The Heritage Trace Parkway location opened in June 2021, followed by the Watauga location in November.

Five shrimp flavors are available: coconut, sweet and spicy coconut, butter garlic, lemon herb and spicy. Shrimp plates start at $11 and are served with rice and a salad.

“Of course, they love the shrimp, but the rice surprises them,“ Escobar said of diners. “It’s a butter rice. They go nuts for it.”


Utilitarian and decorative items in each location are made from repurposed items. Brandon Leick, another manager at the Heritage Trace location, said the front counters are made of wood from Polynesian ships, and the decorative surfboards have all been used by surfers.

“The guys [Barrus and Hadley] are very big on treating the environment and earth with a lot of respect,” Escobar said. The island culture can be found throughout the restaurant, from the Hawaiian-themed music to sinks fashioned after surfers’ rest stops to multiple live plants lining the waiting area.

Some customers are pleasantly surprised when they are greeted with a friendly “aloha,” Escobar and Leick said. Coco Shrimp’s motto is “spread the aloha.” Escobar said one customer who had lived in Hawaii said the restaurant made them feel like “they were in a little piece of home.”

Hadley’s hometown is Fort Worth, and Barrus is from California.


“From the moment [Barrus and Hadley] began Coco, their dream was to eventually settle in Hawaii with their families,” Perez wrote in an email. “They recently relocated to Hawaii and are working remotely."

Coco Shrimp, 2401 Heritage Trace Parkway, Fort Worth

817-862-7463

www.cocoshrimp.com


Hours: Mon.-Thu. 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun.-closed