How We Became Off The Hook

  “We would take the boat over to the Bahamas quite often for some serious fishing. I’d come back and try to figure out what to do with all the Tuna, Grouper and Snapper that we brought home. I never like to freeze the stuff! We’d have these giant parties. I had so much fish to share! We’d invite everyone we knew and tell them to bring as many people as they knew!

Seeing how people would react to the real deal, fish that was swimming pretty recently! It just was sort of the light bulb moment! I knew I wanted to share my passion for fishing with likeminded people as well as folks that just love seafood.  I used to always say that everyone ought to be friends with a fisherman.” Off the Hook is really just an extension of that.

In 2010, that vision became a reality. “I remember the crazy looks I would get from some of our guests! It took a while for them to figure out what we were all about. I’d pull up to the front of the restaurant with the boat on a trailer and start offloading the catch. We’d have to bring it through the front of the store, right through the dining room! It was funny to see their reaction. After a while, it sort of became an event. Everyone would come out there and take pictures of the fish. We’d let them hold them. I really think they enjoyed the experience.

Most of the fishing pictures you see around the restaurants have the smiling faces of a lot of people that originally just came in here to get a good meal! It’s really nice to be able to share that part of it with the clientele. Things like that really create some memories for them, especially those not fortunate enough to live here year-round.

We hope you enjoy your Off the Hook experience. Let’s go fishing!

~Mike Shaler