A Waterfront Tradition Since 1940
In 1940, this wasn’t a place where you ordered a dirty martini and watched the sunset. It was a working waterfront. Fishing boats unloaded their catch onto the docks, where it was sorted, packed in ice, and shipped to cities like New York and Philadelphia. Locals knew the best way to get dinner was to head straight to the docks, where they could buy the morning’s catch directly from the fish market.
In 1952, the Barmore family decided to start serving the day’s catch themselves, opening a small, walk-up seafood stand right on the dock. Over the next several years, its popularity outgrew the original four stools, and The Shrimp Box moved into the fish market—the very space that now houses our lobby and part of our kitchen—expanding to 36 seats.
In the late 1990s, the Gyftakis family purchased The Shrimp Box, continuing the family legacy of warm, attentive hospitality while honoring the heritage of the local fishing community. Today, those relationships with local fishing co-ops help bring fresh, locally caught seafood from the boats to your table.
The Gyftakis family also continued expanding The Shrimp Box, remodeling the restaurant, adding a harborside patio, and refreshing the menu, cementing its status as a Jersey Shore institution.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy pushed five feet of water into the building. Within days, neighbors, customers, and staff showed up in waders with shovels in hand, helping us clear the debris and begin rebuilding. That outpouring of support showed what The Shrimp Box has always been: a gathering place where friendships are made, traditions are celebrated, and the local community comes together.
More than 80 years later, the dock is just as much a part of The Shrimp Box as it was in 1940. It once bustled with fishing boats unloading seafood for market. Today it’s where boaters tie up for lunch, friends and families gather around the table, and another Jersey Shore sunset unfolds across the inlet.
