A 24 by 48-foot pavilion for covered seating. Live music on summer nights. Cold beer and fresh-fried catfish.
Along with southern-style sides and desserts, Frank’s Fish Shack on Hwy. 7 S. will be even more of a draw for lovers of fish dinners like you used to find in the South.
Angie and Terry Carey opened Frank’s Fish Shack a year ago on their property, naming it after Terry’s father, Frank Carey, an ardent fisherman of nearby Truman Lake.
The plan: to start a business that taps into their cooking skills and love of hosting fish fries for friends and family, and transition the couple into the next stage of their lives.
Franks’ Fish Shack has been such a hit that since July, Terry, a bricklayer like his father, no longer has to commute to the Kansas City area to oversee construction sites.
“The Shack enabled us to afford him to retire,” Angie said.
Terry is the official fish fryer, taking the fresh premium catfish, delivered every week from the Delta, coating it and frying it to perfection when it’s ordered.
“The quality is what makes the difference in the taste,” Angie said.
Angie still works from home, but as the weekend approaches, cooks up Cajun-inspired side dishes and southern desserts. She hasn’t tired of making food, she said, but looks forward to planning what she’s going to make to add to the menu.
“I come up with something different every week,” she said.
She and Terry can’t believe it’s been a year since they opened last year at the end of March. They expected the endeavor to be successful, she said, but “not this successful.” Last year’s opening generated so much buzz that they sold out of Fish Shack T-shirts twice before they even opened.
A few weeks ago, the Careys took a spring break and were gone for close to two weeks, Angie said. But since they reopened, it’s been “crazy busy.”
“Last weekend we ran out of everything,” Angie said. “Everybody was missing the Shack.”
Angie said once they got the system down, everything ran smoothly. The best part was getting to know their regular customers on a first-name basis.
“We have not dealt with one angry person,” Angie said. “Everybody has been very nice, and appreciative of us being here. It makes us want to do what we do even more.”
The hardest part was figuring how much food to make, Angie said, so that they don’t run out. They always sell out of the individual fruit pies, called crab pies or hand pies, which she and her daughter make.
“It doesn’t matter how many I make, 50 or 100,” Angie said. “We sell out every week.”
Terry said that the hardest part for him is when there’s a line of customers at the window and he’s trying to get the orders out. The longest people have had to wait is 10 minutes, Angie said.
Now the Careys are waiting for the trestles to build the pavilion, Angie said, which they expect to arrive next week. The liquor license has been approved, she said, and will be signed off once skirting is added around the base of the Fish Shack. That will be done after the pavilion is finished, Angie said, in case the position of the trailer has to be adjusted.
“The majority of the tables will be under the pavilion,” Angie said, “and we’ll have sun shades on the sides which can be lowered to block wind and rain.”
They’ve lined up five bands to play on a weekend night May through September. An Acoustic Jam Night is scheduled for the last Saturday in June 29, from 6 to 10 p.m., and will feature Emmit Rickey and Clay Clear.
In addition to summer jam fests, the Shack will participate in the “Dine and Donate” fundraiser on August 10 for the Henry County Memory Fund.
On August 17, they will hold the second annual Frank’s Birthday Bash. Terry’s father, who was born in 1933, would have been 91 this year,
“We lost him to Alzheimer’s,” Angie said.
The Shack is now open Fridays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m, and noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Starting in May, it will also be open for lunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Shack did offer breakfast, but now Angie does brunch once a month.
“I make biscuits and gravy,” she said. “I make 60 biscuits and usually sell out by 11 a.m.”
She said they may also take their smaller trailer into town on Cruizin’ to Clinton nights, which are on the second Saturday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m., starting in May, and sell fish tacos and hand pies on the Square.
On nights they have live music at Frank’s, they will stay open until 10 p.m, she said.
Frank’s Fish Shack is on their property next to their house on Hwy. 7 S., just west of Tightwad. The address is 932 SE Hwy., Clinton MO 64735. The Fish Shack is open if you see the flags in their driveway flying after you pass SE 901 Rd. There is a graveled drive with lots of parking and room to turn around RVs or boat trailers.
The Fish Shack does not accept checks, and a fee is charged for credit card use. Check Frank’s Fish Shack Facebook for special events and Angie’s weekend selection of side dishes.
