The restaurant started as a food truck and was founded by Isaac Hadley who co-owns the business with Jordan Barrus. Hadley loved the laid-back lifestyle in Oahu and saw the important role food plays in Polynesian culture. Hadley wanted to bring the feeling and flavors of Hawaii back to Texas and fixed up an old ambulance to start the Coco Shrimp food truck in Fort Worth with Barrus.
After five years of gaining popularity, the co-owners knew it was time for a brick and mortar restaurant and saw instant success. The business now has locations in Heritage Trace, Watauga, Downtown Fort Worth and Denton. The Richardson restaurant is the company’s newest location.
Richardson co-owners Blaise Hadley and Walter Cervin said they’re excited to bring a unique, fast-casual restaurant to the Richardson community. The goal is to transport customers to the North Shore when they taste the food at Coco Shrimp.
“We try to make you feel like you're getting away from everything, just like when you're out on the North Shore,” Blaise said. “[We have] authentic surfboards hanging in the ceilings that still have sand on them. It's just a very rustic interior, and the food is high-quality. There's just nobody that [is serving only] shrimp.”
Coco Shrimp serves all its menu items plate-style, which means customers’ shrimp is accompanied by garlic butter rice and a fresh salad. For the salad, customers can choose between a poppyseed vinaigrette and creamy ginger dressing.
Coco Shrimp offers five flavors of shrimp for customers to choose from:
- Coco: hand-battered and breaded with coconut flakes, then fried
- Sweet & Spicy: classic Coco Shrimp drizzled with sweet teriyaki, house-made spicy sauce, and a sweet chili dipping sauce
- Butter Garlic: sauteed, then tossed in butter garlic sauce and seasoned with a special blend of spices and herbs
- Spicy: sauteed, then tossed in a house-made spicy sauce and seasoned with spicy herbs
- Lemon Herb: sauteed then topped with lemon butter and seasoned with fresh lemon and herbs
Coco Shrimp also offers Coco Tacos and is ranked 45th as one of the hottest taco spots, according to a Yelp ranking.
“The Coco Tacos are to die for,” Blaise said. “That says a lot about our taco and again, we're not a taco spot but it's a great taco with incredible flavors.”
In addition to serving up North Shore flavors, Cervin said Coco Shrimp makes an effort to price its items appropriately so customers aren’t breaking the bank.
“You get two tacos for $9.79, and our shrimp plates start at $11.25,” Cervin said. “We have chosen to really keep the prices that are right for our customers, because times are tough out there and [while] everyone else is going up, we've stayed the same.”
Part of what makes Coco Shrimp special is the hospitality Blaise and Cervin provide to every customer who comes through their door.
“We talk to 100% of the tables,” Cervin said. “We want to know the community and partner with the community. Hospitality is in our DNA.”
The Richardson location is open Mon.-Thurs. 10:45 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat. 10:45 a.m.-10 p.m. and closed on Sunday. The restaurant is located at 1240 E. Belt Line Road, Richardson. Coco Shrimp offers dine-in, drive-thru, takeout and third-party delivery.
Taste the flavors of Oahu at Coco Shrimp. For more information about the business, visit its website.
The above story was produced by Senior Multi Platform Journalist Summer El-Shahawy with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.
