On Monday, Come Back Shack celebrated the soft opening of its downtown location, located at 767 W. King St.
Chloe Cohan, the general manager, said the new location has been a long time in the making, spanning back six years. She said over the last three to four months, the company has been focused on hiring and training new employees at their other Boone location.
Cohan started working for the company at age 16 and said she was able to put herself through college by working at Come Back Shack.
“I just love the family environment, I love our leadership team,” she said.
She said the downtown location will be running promotions for menu items such as the Candy Cane Crunch Shake. Her favorite menu item is the fried green tomato burger.
Chief Marketer Stephanie Boozer said her family started the company back in 2011. This is the fourth location she has helped open. In addition to the original location in Boone, Come Back Shack has two locations in South Carolina – one in North Charleston and another in Mt. Pleasant.
Boozer said the reason the company decided to open the new King Street location was because of the lack of space at their original location in Boone.
When The Winkler Organization reached out asking if Come Back Shack would be interested in a retail space six years ago, Boozer said the restaurant jumped at the opportunity.
“It worked out very well because we didn’t have to come in and make ourselves fit into a space that was already built,” she said. “We got to actually help them design this and build this how we wanted it to be, which was just a total blessing.”
Boozer said the new location comes with many advantages, including reaching out to a new market. She said the new location will be accessible for people visiting King Street and not just the restaurant. Additionally, she said the new location will be able to cater to the student population better than their other Boone location.
She said the company has no official grand opening date set yet, which will likely be announced in one to two months, but the restaurant will still be open to the public in the meantime.
The soft launch aimed to serve the contractors who helped construct the new location, some of whom have worked on the project for years.
“A lot of hands went into building this,” Boozer said.
Contractors Josh Herman and Scott Pitts said they are long-time fans of the franchise. They helped with concrete work during the build. Herman, who ordered a chicken tender basket and Nutella shake, said he enjoyed his meal. Pitts ordered the bacon cheddar burger.
Manager Laura Hawley said she has worked with the company for three years. She said her favorite thing about the franchise is its family-friendly atmosphere and support from Come Back Shack’s owners.
“They want to make sure that we have a positive, supportive environment,” she said.
Hawley said she appreciates the owners’ leadership style and said their training system is efficient and easy for new trainees to learn.
Boozer said what sets Come Back Shack apart from its competitors is the quality of its food and dedication to the community.
“We wanted to serve food that was good for you,” she said.
In addition to using single and locally sourced ingredients, she said Come Back Shack provides many job opportunities to college students and the local community while allowing people the space to “come together.”
