Shaggy’s–A Little Stack of Heaven
Take a Pensacola Beach sunset.
Add “a little stack of heaven” (crab cakes and fried green tomatoes with Cajun sauce, cooked over natural gas).
There’s only one place you can be—Shaggy’s on Pensacola Beach.
Serving up good food, beautiful views, and laid-back fun since May 2012, Shaggy’s is a member of the Gulf Breeze Natural Gas wonderful family of customers. With a complete natural gas kitchen that includes fryers, range, grill, and oven, along with natural gas water heaters, the business is saving at least 30% in fuel costs over the cost of propane.
Shaggy’s on Pensacola Beach is the third restaurant owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ron Ladner of Pass Christian, Mississippi, who started the original Shaggy’s in the aftermath of a hurricane. It’s a great story and you can read it here, courtesy of Ron Ladner. And they are building another Shaggy’s in downtown Gulfport.
“The Shaggy’s Story” By Ron Ladner, Founder, Shaggy’s
Pass Christian is a small waterfront town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “The Pass,” as it’s called by the locals, is home to one of the most beautiful harbors in the Gulf of Mexico, filled with one of the Gulf’s largest shrimp-boat fleets. The Pass is my home, and it’s also home to the first Shaggy’s. Here is the story of how Shaggy’s Harbor Bar & Grill was born… 
In June 2005 I was fueling my boat at the Bait Shop in Pass Harbor when the shop’s owner approached me and said, “So you’re Ron Ladner. I hear you’re developing real estate in Pass Christian. We’re selling the Bait Shop. You should buy it.”
I immediately thought about how cool it would be to expand the place–add a kitchen and serve fresh seafood, burgers, cocktails, and cold beer, Key West style.
My wife and I had just moved to the coast full time after spending six years splitting time between Pass Christian and Atlanta. I was wrapping up a career in the software business, had logged a million air miles, was tired of Atlanta, and sorely missed the Gulf lifestyle. So we returned to my roots and made Pass Christian home.
I was interested in launching a new career developing small real estate projects, not getting into the restaurant business. But then the idea of redeveloping a building in the harbor seemed as though it might be rewarding, so we decided to pursue the ‘Bait Shop’ project.
Two months later everything changed. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed Pass Christian and took out The Bait Shop. We lost our homes, we lost our town, we lost friends, and we lost our spirit.
All of our dreams were put temporarily on hold.
And then the sun began to shine again. Several months after the storm we purchased the property where the Bait Shop had stood. We designed a simple building, planned a cool menu, started construction in April 2007, painted the restaurant bright red, and opened our doors three months later.
We named the restaurant Shaggy’s from a popular place that had thrived in 1940s downtown Pass Christian, Shaggy’s Tavern.
We look back and feel that our little red place in the harbor helped breath life back into our town, in a time of great need. We’re often told that Shaggy’s helped many through the healing process—a place for all of us to get together, laugh, cry, eat great food, and enjoy a cold one. Many of our customers say they feel like they’re on vacation, although they haven’t left town.
We now have a second location on Biloxi Beach, MS, and a third location in Pensacola Beach, FL. We have developed a unique culture with a strong emphasis on employee care, to produce a unique, fun-loving, festive environment for all of our customers to enjoy–and feel at home.
We also strive to pay great attention to community needs. Our Shaggy’s Kids Foundation focuses on introducing children to fishing and marine life.
Though Shaggy’s is now enjoyed by visitors from all over the world, we’re proud that our customers tell us that the Shaggy’s environment is still a comfortable gathering place where you always feel like you’re among good friends, good food, good fun…and LOVED by our staff.