Acclaimed Jerk Shack moving to comfier digs

The popular West Side Jamaican restaurant The Jerk Shack has closed as the owners prepare to move the business near SeaWorld San Antonio, where they hope to open before Thanksgiving. Sept. 18 marked its last day.

The new location, at 10234 Texas 151, originally was going to be Jerk Shack’s second location, but the original space on Matyear Street near Our Lady of the Lake University had become untenable, said chef and co-owner Lattoia Massey, who also goes by Chef Nicola Blaque.

“When it’s 100 degrees outside, it feels like 200 degrees inside,” Massey said of the small walk-up building that once housed a taco stand. Equipment surfaces, including the outsides of the refrigerated units, got so hot they could inflict burns, she said, and the heat and cramped conditions made it hard to attract and keep staff.

The location had no inside seating, and the line routinely stretched a dozen people deep for a spot at the shaded tables outside. Even those small comforts went away at the height of the pandemic, when The Jerk Shack shifted exclusively to takeout and curbside.

The new location will seat 50 people inside and 12 outside, and the kitchen is 10 times bigger, Massey said. They’re also adding a drive-thru to pick up orders placed online, and customers will have the option of using a selfserve kiosk to place orders — efficiencies put in place to address shifts in service and staffing brought on by COVID-19.

“Right now, if you’re not working efficiently, you’re losing,” Massey said.

The Jerk Shack made waves when it opened in summer 2018, earning high praise from the Express-News and landing on GQ magazine’s list of the country’s best new restaurants. Critics and customers swooned over its spicy jerk chicken and pork grilled to order, along with braised oxtails, Jamaican beef patties, and macaroni and cheese served with chicken wings.

The new location, which will

be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, will keep most of the existing menu and add fried chicken by the bucket, Massey said. The new site also will sell beer and wine.

Plans are still in place for another Jerk Shack location, set to open in late 2022 or early 2023 at Hemisfair Plaza, Massey said. She and her husband and co-owner Cornelius Massey also operate

the Caribbean wrap stand Mi Roti at the Pearl’s Bottling Department food hall, where business will continue as usual.

The Jerk Shack, 10234 Texas 151, Suite 103, Facebook: @thejerkshacksatx

Mike Sutter / Staff file photo The Jamaican restaurant The Jerk Shack has closed as the owners prepare to move the business near SeaWorld San Antonio.