Cowtown is expecting a new restaurant highlighting a type of cuisine that is new to the TCU area: Seafood. 

John and Jennifer Shepherd are next in line to take over the vacant spot after Salsa Limón announced it’s closure in mid-August. They are bringing to life a restaurant called Shep’s Off The Hook Seafood that is expected to open in a couple of weeks. 

The couple owns two other restaurants in Weatherford: Shep’s Place and Saltwater Seafood. John Shepherd said they plan to combine the two for this new restaurant.

“We will have Shep’s appetizers and salads and then all of the Saltwater’s appetizers, entrees,” John Shepherd said. “We are trying to keep everything in the $8-12 range for the most part. As far as food, we’ll have a couple things a little more expensive and some things on the cheaper end.”

Jennifer Shepherd said college students have responded well to the restaurants in Weatherford and will have no trouble gaining the TCU audience. She also said the interior will be engaging. 

“It’s a fun fashion of both of our other places,” she said. “We’ve got natural wood and really cool pillars. We like some fun stuff so expect to see some interesting stuff to take pictures with; we’re all about the bathrooms… the ones at Shep’s [Place] are sharpied with a lot of different sayings.”

John Shepherd said Shep’s Off The Hook Seafood would like to allow students to use Frog Bucks at their restaurant, but Director of Housing and Residence Life Craig Allen said the owners will have to go through a process and fee before they can be placed on that list. 

Students have mixed reactions on the seafood restaurant coming in on campus.

Senior biology major Kara Scolman said she doesn’t think the place will do well and isn’t sure if many people around campus would be interested in seafood.

Other students, however, plan to give it a chance.

“I’m going to keep an open mind on it,” senior political science major Christian Tjoa said, “But it needs to be up to snuff to justify replacing Salsa Limón.”

John Shepherd said Off The Hook Seafood will host charity events, live music performances and pint nights where you buy the beer and keep the glass.