Let the record reflect that options are always good.
It’s been written here about 300 times that the more Savannah’s food scene grows, the more great chefs and nationally regarded restaurants will come to the area to help move the our little train that could down the road.
This isn’t another one of those stories.
Somewhat lost in the background of all of the exciting things that are happening in and around the center of our city, is the growth we are seeing in Pooler. Breaking news it certainly is not, but it seems like every time I roll down Pooler Parkway (which is 2-3 times a month lately) I’m seeing a sign for a new eatery. I could list a lot of them here, but they are not reason we’ve gathered together today.
One of the latest, however, is called Slapfish. They bill themselves as a “Modern Seafood Shack.”
Born in Huntington Beach, California in 2011, Slapfish’s original recipes were created in a food truck on the beach. Eight years later, they are an international operation with 25 locations around the country and two overseas.
The menu is similar to what you’d find at a lot of other ‘fast casual’ seafood spots, fish tacos, lobster rolls, salads and plates, but there are some creative twists here that will appeal to the area. There’s a Surf and Turf Burger: Angus beef patty topped with chunks of lobster, cheese, caramelized onions and their homemade ‘awesome sauce.’
There’s also a humongous Shrimp Burrito stuffed with shrimp, cheese, rice, French fries and I think I saw parts of a Ford F150 in there. You get my drift? It was huge. The one person that can eat that in one sitting gets a hi-five from me.
For the record, Slapfish isn’t a ‘how many fried things can we fit in a basket’ kind of place. Some of their options are available grilled and there is care going into what kind of seafood experience you will have.
It should also be mentioned that the goal with Slapfish is to find the freshest seafood they can. Sustainability is also huge for them. Seems like a corporate obsession. Which is great, but you have to wonder how it can be maintained with two dozen locations now and many more to come down the road.
Ownership is a family operation. The Lomasney family lives on Hilton Head Island. But they are finally seeing their vision for something different in this area come to fruition. Mama Lomasney says her son Zach had a degree in hospitality from USCB. They discussed what they could do as a family.
“We learned a little bit about them” says Sharon Lomasney. “Then drove all over California pretty much ordering everything at every Slapfish we drove to. We wanted to make sure it was consistent.”
The Pooler location sits at the corner of Pooler Parkway and Durham Park Way, right across from the West Chatham YMCA.
Construction is under way for their second location on Hilton Head Island in what will be a renovated gas station at Arrow Road and Highway 278 (next to My Sister’s Closet). They are targeting a February 2020 opening there.
They also own the entire Georgia and South Carolina territories. Yes, they are planning to expand, but first things first.
If you are wondering if this is cut and paste seafood, it is. All the way to down to the strict corporate menus that are followed to prepare everything in house. And they do, which is already a leg up on a lot of the chains out there. Especially in Pooler.
We should also mention that they have a corporate person coming in this week to begin developing relationships with local fish mongers. The plan at Slapfish is to always have a fish of the day. Local if they can get it, which will also give them a leg up on some of their dishes. A fish taco with Tilapia (organic though it may be) doesn’t do a whole lot for me. Give me something caught off of our coast that tastes like it, and you will get my attention.
That is the plan for Slapfish.
The dishes we tried were good. A bit on the heavy side, but good. I can see it doing well in West Chatham. I can see it doing well during the season on Hilton Head Island.
The seafood snobs among us may turn their nose up at a chain seafood spot. And they are certainly entitled to their opinions.
But they shouldn’t do so without giving Slapfish a shot. You might just Eat It and Like It.
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