Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Barrus and Isaac Hadley.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jordan and Isaac. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Isaac and I met while going to college on the North Shore of Oahu. Isaac had an early morning job prepping shrimp for one of the local Shrimp Trucks. Prepping shrimp was mind numbing, tedious work but Isaac made the most of it and got some friends to help him so he could finish early and go surfing before class every morning. They would all talk about business ideas and how to “make their millions” after they graduate as they were elbow deep in raw shrimp and sweating in the Hawaiian humidity. They joked with the idea of bringing one of the Hawaiian Shrimp Trucks to Texas (where Isaac grew up) but no one actually thought Isaac would really do it. We graduated and had just moved back to the mainland when Isaac first told me his idea to open a shrimp food truck in Texas. I immediately told him it was a horrible idea. I had just gotten a fancy, grown up corporate job in Southern California and tried talking Isaac into giving up his dreams and settling for a “real job” too but he wouldn’t listen. He bought an old 1970’s ambulance that he converted into a food truck himself in the backyard of his parents’ house. With every last penny in his savings account, he opened Coco Shrimp. I sat at work behind a desk, getting fat and depressed as Isaac grew the company. I finally reached my breaking point, quit my job and moved my family to Texas to join forces with Isaac. We’ve since opened a second truck and are now building out our first brick and mortar restaurant location at 305 S. Main St, Downtown Fort Worth.
Has it been a smooth road?
No, it was not a smooth ride for Isaac at all. Anything that could have gone wrong, did. Since I joined the business about six months after it started, I was able to watch from an outsider’s perspective as Isaac figured things out while building the truck. I would talk to him on the phone a couple of times a week and our conversations typically went like this:
Me: “Hey man, how’s the food truck coming?”
Isaac: “Fine… I’m almost out of money, the truck’s engine blew up (literally) and the guy I hired to paint the truck took off with $2000. I just ran out of money when I ordered this big shipment of raw shrimp so if this doesn’t work out and this shrimp goes bad, that’s it for Coco Shrimp. We’re done.”
On his first day officially open, family and friends traveled in to support Isaac in his crazy venture. He had a line down the block before he even opened but then something happened to his suppression system and propane lines and he had to turn everyone away.
Isaac hit every obstacle imaginable but somehow managed to pull it off.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Live Big! That’s what we always tell each other! Coming from the North Shore of Oahu Hawaii, we wanted to bring the good vibes and life style that we fell in love with, to TEXAS! Oahu’s North Shore is the surf mecca of the world! We fell in love with the adventurous, thrill seeking and spontaneous life, which is what led us all to COCO SHRIMP! As much as it is our passion to sling delicious SHRIMP all day, it has become our goal to focus on FAMILY, LIVING BIG and encouraging others to do the same! Being in Texas has allowed us to seek out new and creative adventures! We have absolutely loved all the bumps and surprises our families have faced along the way and want to share it with everyone who is willing to try something new!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Since starting out in Fort Worth, we have always aspired to open up a location in Dallas! We are expecting to be able to have a location in Dallas in the near future. It is a great place to start out because of how diverse it is in every aspect. Dallas not only seems friendly to small businesses but encourages them! Starting out as a food truck, we have watched places like the Truck Yard, Klyde Warren Park, and the Food Park. These show us that Dallas is open to food trucks, new concepts, ideas and businesses!
Pricing:
- Coco Shrimp Plate $11
- Garlic Shrimp Plate $10
- Spicy Shrimp Plate $10
- Lemon Herb Shrimp Plate $10
- Shrimp Sampler $12
Contact Info:
- Address: 4440 Basswood Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76137
- Website: cocoshrimp.com
- Phone: 8084898433
- Email: cocoshrimp808@gmail.com
- Instagram: @cocoshrimp
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cocoshrimp1/
- Twitter: Coco Shrimp LLC
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/coco-shrimp-fort-worth-2
- Other: Coco Shrimp LLC
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