Shanty On The Shore

What Shanty On The Shore does

Shanty On The Shore is a single-location, full-service seafood restaurant operating from a historic building at 181 Battery Street on the Burlington, Vermont waterfront, with continuous operation since December 12, 1985. The property traces its origins to 1833 when Isaac Nye erected it as a general store, and it retains preserved architectural elements including wood beams, lintels, and exterior pulleys from its 1894 yacht-manufacturing era under James Wakefield. The restaurant employs 19 people and generates revenue primarily through dine-in food and beverage sales, supported by digital gift card sales via the CardFoundry platform.

The core offering is a daily-changing menu built around hand-selected fresh seafood whose composition shifts with tidal availability, complemented by a dedicated drink menu and gluten-free and vegan options. Reservations for indoor seating are managed through the RESY platform between 11:30 am and 9 pm, while outdoor deck seating operates on a first-come, first-serve basis, and a free VIP email membership program offers exclusive events, secret menus, special offers, and loyalty rewards. The customer base consists of local Burlington residents and waterfront visitors seeking fresh seafood and a historic dining atmosphere with views of Lake Champlain.

The business is privately held with no disclosed institutional ownership, parent company, or external funding. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer through the single physical location and the CardFoundry gift card storefront, with marketing concentrated on the website, the VIP email program, and customer review platforms. There is no app, no API, and no proprietary technology disclosed beyond the third-party SaaS tooling used for reservations, gift cards, and online presence.

Name

Shanty On The Shore

Legal name

Shanty On The Shore

Website

https://shantyontheshore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shanty On The Shore is a single-location, full-service seafood restaurant in Burlington, Vermont, operating from a historic 1833 waterfront building and serving hand-selected fresh seafood on a daily tide-driven menu to local diners and Lake Champlain visitors since 1985.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Restaurant

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Fast Casual (THAFABAJ)

Keywords

• Seafood restaurant
• Fresh seafood dining
• Waterfront dining
• Full-service restaurant
• Historic restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales: Full-service restaurant generating revenue from seafood menu items, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Menu changes daily based on tidal availability of fresh seafood.
2. Gift Card Sales: Digital gift cards sold through third-party platform CardFoundry, providing additional revenue stream and customer gifting options.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Shanty On The Shore operates a single-location, full-service seafood restaurant at 181 Battery Street on the Burlington, Vermont waterfront. It serves hand-selected, fresh seafood whose menu changes daily based on tidal availability, with indoor reservations via RESY and first-come, first-serve outdoor deck seating overlooking Lake Champlain.

Product overview

Shanty On The Shore is a single-location seafood restaurant offering a unified dining experience. The core product is its full-service seafood restaurant featuring hand-selected, daily-changing menu items sourced from Lake Champlain. The restaurant operates from a historic 1833 building and offers indoor dining as well as deck seating with harbor views. Supporting services include a dedicated drink menu, gift cards sold through a third-party platform, and a VIP membership program providing exclusive offers and rewards. Reservations are handled through the RESY platform for indoor dining, while deck seating operates on a walk-in basis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dining Services Full-service seafood restaurant offering dine-in experiences with indoor seating (reservations via RESY) and outdoor deck dining overlooking Lake Champlain, for individual diners and groups.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards available for purchase through the CardFoundry third-party platform, allowing customers to gift dining experiences at Shanty On The Shore.
• VIP Membership Program Free customer loyalty program offering members access to exclusive events, secret menus, special offers, discounts, and loyalty rewards.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lake Champlain CruisesminorOthersCross-promotional reference in restaurant history section. The Shanty references Lake Champlain Cruises for customers interested in learning more about the historic 1894 rescue event where James Wakefield and his son rowed out during a winter storm to rescue the captain and crew of the sunken canal ship 'General Butler'. This is an informational reference rather than a formal business partnership.

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Eventide Oyster Co. Independent seafood-focused restaurant known for fresh, daily-changing menu and coastal authenticity narrative; comparable as a peer independent seafood concept with similar menu-volatilely-by-catch model.
• Neptune Oyster: Iconic independent seafood restaurant in Boston's North End with a tight single-location, fresh seafood focus and built-in waitlist demand; comparable as a high-demand independent seafood concept.
• Hen of the Wood: Upscale independent farm-to-table restaurant in Burlington, VT with a similar high-end, locally-sourced, single-location dining model serving the same local Burlington market and diner persona.
• Leunig's Bistro: Long-established independent full-service restaurant in downtown Burlington, VT with comparable scale, full-service dining, and a similar upscale local diner base.
• The Farmhouse Tap & Grill: Independent full-service restaurant in Burlington, VT operating with a similar scratch kitchen, local sourcing ethos, and comparable casual-upscale positioning to Shanty On The Shore.
• Row 34: Independent seafood-focused restaurant group with a coastal/waterfront positioning and raw bar plus fresh seafood menu; comparable as a craft seafood dining concept targeting diners seeking premium fresh seafood.

Broad incumbents

• Bonefish Grill: National polished-casual seafood chain; comparable on seafood cuisine category but very different in scale, brand control, and consistency of experience versus Shanty's independent historic-positioning.
• Eddie V's Prime Seafood: Upscale polished-casual seafood restaurant chain offering premium seafood dining; comparable on target diner and price point but with national footprint and broader menu versus Shanty's single-location, hand-selected approach.
• Legal Sea Foods: Established national seafood restaurant chain with broader menu and multiple locations; comparable as a seafood-focused dining operator but with far greater scale and standardization than Shanty's independent, hyper-local model.
• McCormick & Schmick's: Multi-location seafood-focused restaurant brand competing in the same fresh-seafood dining category but operating at a national scale rather than a single historic waterfront site.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shanty-on-the-shore

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shanty On The Shore