VIRGINIA BEACH
Rick and Carrie Oliver were vacationing here from York, Penn., at the height of the recent heat wave when a venue at the Oceanfront’s South End caught their eye.
“I saw the mister,” said Carrie Oliver.
Light spritzing from high pressure nozzles create a sultry fog on summer nights at The Shack on 8th Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Despite the name, this is not a cramped watering hole — it’s an expansive lounge with no roof.
The Shack is the only other outdoor venue at the Oceanfront besides Ocean 27 at the Hyatt House hotel. And the place is capitalizing on a national trend: the popularity of games in the restaurant and bar scenes.
A tender, smoked brisket quesadilla sealed the deal for Rick Oliver. And the assortment of yard games held the attention of the couple’s two daughters, who are 10 and 15.
“We will definitely come back,” said Rick Oliver.
Customers can order a taco from the window of a red, 1966 double-decker British bus. They can sip drinks while sitting in hanging macrame chairs next to a bocce game or challenge a friend to a ping-pong match beyond the tropical palm fronds.
Mike Standing, who also owns nearby restaurants Chix on the Beach and Waterman’s Surfside Grille, launched The Shack four years ago.
The 1.5-acre property was part of the Festival Center, an indoor event venue, where as a child, Standing attended cotillions and watched surf movies.
It had a grassy area and a small shed. When he was cleaning up the property, Standing would tell employees: “Throw it in the shack.”
That became the inspiration for the name and a centerpiece bar used for a brief time as part of a food truck park that didn’t pan out.
The next summer, Standing enlarged the bar, adding casual seating around it and a few yard games.
Before long, The Shack became a destination for bar crawls and the place to grab a crush after a 5K race. Last spring, it opened for the season during the Something in the Water festival. A few weeks ago, Pharrell Williams returned to Virginia Beach and hosted a picnic there to thank first responders.
Over the last few years, Standing has invested millions of dollars to expand the space and offer new entertainment, and he’s not done.
Plans are in the works for a raised deck with an ocean view.
“It’s an ongoing, never-ending project,” he said.
His wife, Mariah, handles the landscaping. The entire venue is flanked with lush greenery and flowers from crepe myrtles to hydrangeas to roses. Flip-flops glide over emerald green artificial grass.
The Shack hosted its second annual taco festival on Cinco de Mayo. A grilled cheese festival will debut Aug. 10 and 11.
To grow the business, Standing said he’s focusing more on food.
He hired executive chef Eric Aymer, owner of Get Stuffed: Food Truck Catering, to run the show. Sliders, sandwiches and fresh-cut French fries are popular choices served out of the bus.
Look for the taco cart where you’ll find smoked brisket, pork barbecue, chicken or veggie tacos and quesadillas.
The British bus is an attraction that the Standings found in Florida and shipped to Virginia Beach just in time for summer. They also added a trailer that serves as a prep kitchen, multiple crush bars and additional women’s restrooms with a total of 26 stalls for the gals.
“I never want anyone in any kind of line,” said Standing.
On Mondays, family-friendly movies are featured on a big screen in the middle of the lawn.
Most nights after 9 p.m., The Shack takes on a more nightclub feel.
“There are lots of families early, and then it transcends to quite the night spot,” Standing said.
Sadie Arsenauld and Ben Hecker, both 23 and Virginia Beach residents, like to go to The Shack to meet up with friends.
“It’s a party pad,” Hecker said.
?Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
