Marine morsel moguls Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar are expanding their growing seafood empire with a new Grouper Shack location in a prominent Jacksonville Beach location.
Aiming to open Dec. 1, the project will supplant the space formerly occupied by the Bearded Pig at 1700 3rd St. S., and marks the couple’s fourth concept in less than two years.
Since May 2024, Stuart and Klar have opened The Boathouse Ponte Vedra, Outback Crab Shack in St. Augustine, and the first Grouper Shack in St. Augustine this past April.
Unlike their more formal venues, Grouper Shack is designed as a more casual and less pricey alternative.
“It’s affordable so everybody can come in a super nice environment where they can order fresh catch,” Stuart told the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Most items on the menu are priced at $20 or less, with offerings like grouper, snapper, flounder and other fresh catches served fried, grilled or blackened.
Stuart said he is able to temper prices by leveraging the couple’s deep ties to the local fishing community.
He told the outlet that they source fish directly from local fishermen and bring in other seafood from trusted partners around the country, including Maine lobster and flounder from North Carolina.
A self-described “fishing family,” Stuart and Klar recently nabbed second place in the Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament.
Stuart’s grandfather opened one of the area’s first fish markets, Intracoastal Fisheries, and his father still owns the long-running Seafood Kitchen in Atlantic Beach.
“I grew up here in Jacksonville Beach,” Stuart said. “And I just think it’s a win for everybody.”
