Wharf Casual Seafood bringing coastal goodness to inland Alabama
Wharf Casual Seafood may be a fast-casual restaurant, but its food is elevated through preparation and plating. (Susan Swagler / Alabama News Center)
The slogan for Wharf Casual Seafood is “The Coast is Here.” It’s perfect for a restaurant that brings Gulf-fresh seafood – everything from oysters to shrimp to fin fish – to mostly inland areas of the Southeast.
“Here” is becoming nearer all the time; the regional chain is growing steadily and delivering coastal deliciousness to more and more people across the Yellowhammer state. A new store is set to open in Moody in July; locations in Sylacauga and Clanton are next.
This family-owned business began with a love story.
In the late 1960s, Early Duggar met and married Eva Thomas and went to work in her father’s fourth-generation Gulf Coast seafood business. Early and Eva founded Gulf King Seafood Corp. in 1971, which became one of the world’s largest wholesale seafood businesses. But three back-to-back Gulf hurricanes in the ’80s were more than that business could withstand, so the couple put their knowledge of seafood, their business smarts and their entrepreneurial spirit into a restaurant concept, founding The Wharf in Tallahassee in 1986.
Their son, Stephen Duggar, grew up in the business and furthered his culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. After school, he returned to Tallahassee, and he and his father created the Wharf Casual Seafood concept. When Early was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2015, a succession plan was needed to help carry the family business forward. So, Noah J. Griggs Jr., with decades of corporate restaurant experience, joined the Duggar family as a partner.
Noah, president and CEO, says, “It was a beautiful partnership because we each had a lane, and we knew to respectfully stay in our lane. Early married into a fishing family and learned procurement. Stephen’s education with the CIA was phenomenal. So, Early could buy it, Stephen knew how to prepare it, and I had some experience in the operations service and just running the business. So, it’s been a great partnership. We lost Early a few years ago (in 2020). He was a tremendous man, an incredible person, just a wealth of knowledge … a good friend. … My biggest wish is that he could see what we’ve accomplished. It’s pretty special.”
Today, Stephen and Noah – running the back and the front of the house, respectively – with the help of a few investors, are continuing the business Early and Eva established: offering delicious, fresh seafood; building lasting relationships with people from all walks of life; and making a positive impact on the communities they serve.
Wharf Casual Seafood is a modern, innovative concept that strives to exceed expectations, says Stephen, executive chef, co-owner and vice president.
The restaurants fit a fast-casual niche, but they are more than that. You’ll order at the counter when dining on-site, but there’s a dining room staff on hand. “Once you sit down, you should get as good of service or better service than you do in full-service restaurants,” Stephen says. “We want to take care of you.”
The business is up to 45% takeout in some locations. There is no drive-through, but in the newer “2.0 freestanding stores,” you can order ahead and pick up at a window without ever leaving the car.
Inside, Instagram-worthy dishes are intentionally plated on plates that look like giant oyster shells; shareables are arranged on handsome trays, other dishes are served in little cast-iron pans.
“For a lot of people, we are a very casual, simple restaurant, but for some people, especially in small towns, we’re kind of like the nicer restaurants,” Stephen says.
The chef-driven menu features mostly grilled and blackened seafoods with some traditional crispy options, too.
The bacon-wrapped, sticky-barbecue-sauced grilled shrimp are a must-have. So are the collards with savory pieces of Conecuh Sausage. Wharf Shrimp and Grits features applewood-smoked bacon, goat cheese and an herbed cream sauce. A Cajun version has blackened shrimp, andouille, cheddar cheese and a barbecue-butter sauce. Oysters are raw on the half shell or chargrilled or fried or stuffed into a po-boy with a spicy Wharf sauce. Conecuh-studded red beans and rice has grilled shrimp on top. A “red bag” gets you a shrimp boil with a section of snow crab legs.
There are petite versions of most entrees as well as regular servings. There’s a gluten-free menu.
The most popular dish – the restaurant’s signature dish, really – is loaded fried green tomatoes. Stephen admits that “it’s kind of strange for a seafood restaurant,” but it is what it is because it’s delicious – hand-battered, perfectly fried tart slices of fresh green tomatoes topped with feta, bacon, scallions and the Wharf’s ranch sauce.
Wharf is a seafood-forward restaurant, Noah says, “but we also recognize the need to diversify and in doing so, eliminate that ‘veto vote,’ right? Not everybody’s a seafood fan.” So, diners can find steaks, baked potatoes, honey-pecan chicken, salads, burgers, po-boys, tacos and more. Limited-time, NOLA-inspired specials include boudin balls with a Cajun-mustard sauce, loaded gumbo and blackened catfish with a crawfish cream sauce.
“We’re evolving,” Stephen says, “and we’re going to keep evolving. … I think that’s exciting for our regular customers to see different things. … So, when we put tuna poke on the menu, we know it’s not going to be a huge seller, but it is aspirational to where we’re trying to move.” Besides, these LTOs (limited time offers) give the staff a lot of pride, Stephen says. “It gives them more confidence.”
So, they’ve added sauces. They’ve made plating a priority. They’ve begun using larger, more impressive shrimp in their dishes. “We need the wow factor,” Stephen says, especially from a marketing and social media standpoint. “When something looks great, (customers) take a picture of it. They’re advertising for us. … So, we’re just trying to up our level, every six months, every store opening, we’re trying to get a little bit better.”
Noah says: “What I would like to see for this concept is when we show up in a community, we can be the ‘neighborhood restaurant.’ We can be the best restaurant in town. And again, nothing fancy, but when you come in, it’s going to be an experience that everybody enjoys with something for everybody.”
Wharf Casual Seafood has a menu with seafood prepared a number of ways and other dishes for the land lovers. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama News Center)
The regional chain boasts nine restaurants in mid-size markets across the state and in Florida and Georgia. Wharf Hospitality Group Inc. has announced that they will double the size of their footprint during the next three to five years. Central Alabama is the primary area for the Wharf’s current expansion.
It’s all intentional. “We like mid-size markets. We can be seen, known, found, and we can get connected in the community,” Noah says. In Atlanta they would be a small fish in a very big pond, he explains. “In a community like Wetumpka, we can build relationships and get connected to the community in such a way that it has created great success.”
Cleverly, they let other, bigger companies do the expensive demographic research.
“We figured out when Chick-fil-A, Publix and Starbucks show up to a community, it’s time for Wharf Casual Seafood,” Noah says. “What that means is there’s disposable income and people who are hungry to have a better dining experience.”
Each Wharf location is committed to a singular mission: “to provide the highest level of quality, personalized service with a commitment to continuous improvement,” Noah says. “We want to be the best at what we do. We want people to know that we love what we do. I think we serve great food. We give good service and we do it at a good value.”
Noah and Stephen have a debate about which is more important, food or service. “Stephen says it’s the service. I say it’s the food,” Noah says. “But let me qualify that. They come for the food; they come back for the service. You better be doing both. There are a lot of restaurants with great food. But if you can provide that service that makes people feel special and appreciated, that’s what brings them back.”
The chef does indeed want customers to feel appreciated. Stephen mentions the greeters you’ll see at Walmart and hearing “my pleasure” at Chick-fil-A. “You want to feel welcome,” he says. “You want to feel special.” Expect to be greeted with enthusiasm at Wharf Casual Seafood and thanked the same way. Expect that someone will hold the door for you, he says.
The restaurant in Wetumpka is typical of what you can expect, especially in the newer locations. Each has playful directional signage to places across the country that are meaningful to the staff – from San Francisco to Tallassee, Alabama, to Spartanburg, South Carolina. There are reclaimed wood and metal accents inside and out. There are custom wave murals; coastal décor like buoys; and festive, attractive lighting.
But what happens in these settings is what matters.
Noah, who started in the restaurant business flipping burgers at Hardee’s while still in high school, rose through the ranks and ended up managing 2,000 restaurants across the U.S. He says the key to the restaurant’s success is “developing the right culture where your people appreciate and respect one another, they love what they do, and they do it with purpose.”
That purpose goes back to Early. “We’re here to make a living. We enjoy serving others, but part of that enjoyment, part of that purpose, is honoring our founder,” Noah says. Everyone at Wharf wears a blue silicone bracelet that reads: “Breakthroughs ahead.” It refers to the fight against glioblastoma, which took Early. “It’s part of our uniform,” Noah says. “The day’s gonna come when that breakthrough will be here. There will be a cure.” In the meantime, the company supports research for that cure, having already contributed around $40,000 toward the effort.
Management at Wharf also aims to do right by their own people.
Each location employs 35 to 40 people. Those in upper management can buy into the business.
“Money is great,” Stephen says, “but our scorecard is how many successful people we have in our organization. … We are transparent with our people about what we are trying to accomplish. I think that’s what’s going to make us most successful. It’s not only Noah and I getting to where we want to go. We want our people to go with us.”
Stephen says he’s most proud of the people who work in his restaurants. “It’s exciting to see them grow … getting them to see what they are. In the restaurant industry, a lot of times, we’re not getting the college graduate. Some of our employees don’t see what they can be because they’ve not had that in their life. So, the ones we can impact, that’s pretty amazing.”
Noah agrees: “It’s relationships; it’s helping people reach dreams that they never thought they could. A lot of our folks have no idea what they are capable of achieving, but with support, training, development and some mentorship, I’ve seen people rise up and do amazing things.”
It’s also important for Wharf Casual Seafood to be a part of the communities they serve.
Carli Burt, marketing director for the restaurants, says, as far as the community outreach goes, “We try to cover all of our bases. We do back-to-school tea drops or lemonade drops for schools. We support the National Brain Tumor Society in honor of (Stephen’s) dad. We support The Humane Society. We support Little League teams.” All the Wharf restaurants, she says, work hard to give back to their communities.
Stephen adds, “We spend our advertising dollars supporting organizations. … If we support The Humane Society or your softball team, you usually tend to support us. … “We’re seen in the community. They don’t just see us in the restaurant.”
“I think you have to own a business to appreciate local support and involvement,” Noah says. “I managed a couple thousand restaurants at one point. We took our money and we left. We didn’t give back. We didn’t make a difference. So, whether it’s the local chamber of commerce or the National Brain Tumor Society, we do this with purpose. … If you own a business in a small town, you realize very quickly that that support is tremendous. It’s not just about making money. It’s about making a difference.”
The names on the directional signs at Wharf Casual Seafood restaurants have meaning. (Susan Swagler / Alabama News Center)
Wharf Casual Seafood in Wetumpka
4700 U.S. Highway 231, Wetumpka, AL 36092
Additional locations: Montgomery, Alexander City; Dothan; Marianna (Fla.); Tallahassee (Fla.); Valdosta (Ga.)
Coming soon: Moody (July 2024), Sylacauga (fall 2024), Clanton
Hours:
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Susan Swagler has written about food and restaurants for nearly four decades, much of that time as a trusted restaurant critic. She shares food, books, travel and more at www.savor.blog. Susan is a founding member and past president of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in food, wine and hospitality.
