The Rude Shrimp Co. in Fort Myers Beach, FL
We started as a food truck in 2018, and opened a stand-alone, built out of shipping containers, in 2019. We packed up a 26' Penske and moved the restaurant to Fort Myers Beach last January. We are a Hawaiian Fusion concept from Omaha! We won 2 of 3 entrees in the Taste of FMB after being open for 30 days... Guy and the owner/chef of TRSCO are the same age and are members of the same frat ATO - UNLV and UNL He's never done a show in Fort Myers Beach!
Comments (4)
Hi Guy! I’m reaching out to see if you might be able to help my husband and I out. First off, we are huge fans of yours! My husband TJ Holzapfel is the same age and also an ATO (but from University of Nebraska Lincoln). I’ll try to keep it brief. He was a chef in his former life and after years in corporate, got back into it in 2018. We bought a food truck and opened a Hawaiian fusion shrimp business (THE RUDE SHRIMP CO.), of all places in Waterloo, NE! His dream was to franchise our concept and open a brick and mortar concept next. Which is what we did, out of shipping containers in 2019! Our vibe was very islandy and unique, the business took off and was doing great! Being in Nebraska and outdoors, we were only able to be open seasonally. Covid hit and brought in our own set of challenges, but we survived! Our landlords ended up selling the space that we utilized for both the food truck and shipping container concept, forcing us to look for a new location. We’ve always had a love for FL, and found the perfect spot on Fort Myers Beach! So we sold our house and most of our things, packed up our dog Maui in a 26ft Penske with whatever personal and restaurant stuff we could m fit into it, and headed south this past January. We missed most of busy season, but opened up on March 26th. We won 2 of the 3 awards for our food at then annual Taste of Fort Myers Beach in April, and quickly became the buzz of the beach! We purchased our new home June 1st and moved to San Carlos Island so we could be closer to the business. Hurricane Ian hit on 9/28 and forever changed our lives. We lost everything, the business, our home, cars, personal things, all of it. We are alive though and that’s the most important thing! I’m desperately trying to figure out how to get back on our feet asap. We want to rebuild, the people need us, and we need them. It’s going to take years though due to the devastation of our little island. So, I’m reaching out to see if you can help. We sold our food truck before moving here, but it probably wouldn’t have made it either if we would’ve kept and brought it with. I’m not sure what I’m asking for, but thought maybe two creative and like minded foodies (you and TJ) could maybe schedule a call and brainstorm? I’ve got to get him back in the kitchen and feeding our people! Thanks for your time and consideration, it’s truly appreciated. Mahalo! Lisa Lahners 402-690-3413
Guy! If you’re looking for a kick arse restaurant, I highly recommend The Rude Shrimp Co! I promise you will NOT be disappointed! All food is made from scratch. The owner has a passion for cooking-you can taste it in every bite!
The owners and chefs treat everyone amazingly and everything is made with love. Amazing Hawaiian-Asian fusion on Fort Myers Beach, there’s nothing like it around.
GREAT new restaurant to the Fort Meyers area. TJ and Lisa, friends of mine from Nebraska, had this restaurant in Waterloo, NE, BUT ... sadly for us here, but so happy for them ... they followed their dream and went to the beach. TJ is an amazing chef!!! All of his creations are so full of flavor with his own original twist. Please contact them.... The RUDE Shrimp CO. 1365 Estero Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, FL, United States, Florida (239) 233-8305 [email protected] TJ and Lisa would be perfect for the show as they are extremely hard workers but are hilarious...would love to hear the banter between TJ and Guy!