‘Addicting’: The Crack Shack holds grand opening in St. George

ST. GEORGE — A crack house has opened on Bluff Street, but police won’t be planning a visit anytime soon — unless they’re hungry.

Crack Shack Director of Operations Dan Peña, holding the giant scissors, opens up the restaurant during its grand opening, St. George, Utah, May 24, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The Crack Shack is the first Southern Utah location for the “fast-casual” chicken restaurant that started as a pet project in San Diego, California, and has grown into nine eateries. St. George is the fourth Utah location following three locations in the Salt Lake City market, with other Crack Shacks in California, Nevada and Texas. 

A grand opening and Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting was held Wednesday morning at the restaurant, located at 1216 S. Bluff Street. The Crack Shack Director of Operations Dan Peña playfully played with both the giant scissors and the giant plastic chicken outside the restaurant. 

Peña told St. George News the “crack” in the name isn’t necessarily referring to drug use.

“Well, I’m not going to say it refers to that, but it is addicting,” Peña said, adding that the name rather is equated to the crack of an egg.

Other than shakes, cookies and fries, someone looking for something besides chicken or eggs will be out of luck but will have plenty of cluck to choose from. The menu mainly consists of fried and grilled chicken dishes and chicken sandwiches. 

Besides the fried chicken, the restaurant’s signatures are the Señor Croque sandwich, which features a crispy chicken breast, bacon and a fried egg, and the Firebird with spicy thigh meat, ranch, onions and pickles.  

But something setting The Crack Shack apart, Peña said, is the use of non-factory farm chickens raised without cages and with organic food. They are Jidori chickens, which have been described as the Kobe beef of chicken. 

An undated photo of the Firebird sandwich from The Crack Shack restaurant | Photo courtesy of The Crack Shack, St. George News

“Our chickens are all of that: cage-free, organic, non-GMO, organic feed,” he said. “We didn’t want chickens from factory farms.”

The restaurant said it is also locally sourcing many of the chickens and spices farm-fresh, and the buns and bread are from Utah’s Stone Ground Bakery.  

Also unique, The Crack Shack is now the only restaurant in St. George with the distinction of being in the Michelin Guide, with the original San Diego Crack Shack getting a Michelin Plate distinction (the step below getting a Michelin Star) in 2019. 

The Crack Shack started as a side project by the owners of the San Diego Michelin Star restaurant, Juniper and Ivy in 2015. The menu and the proprietary spice blend were created by “Top Chef” runner-up Richard Blais and are supervised by his “right-hand man” Jon Sloan, who was recently named as one of the “best chefs in America.”  

Peña described St. George as an “ideal” market and said the location of the restaurant was found two years ago.

“We fell in love with this site,” said Peña, who sees the St. George location as “bridging the gap” on Interstate 15 between the location at the Park MGM in Las Vegas and the Salt Lake locations. 

What had been a food desert on the west side of the corner of Main Street and Bluff Street has burst open in the last year or so between Beans & Brews, a Swig location, LongHorn Steakhouse, Mo’ Bettahs, Jersey Mike’s and Chick-fil-A, among others.

“Napoleon Dynamite” mural inside The Crack Shack restaurant, St. George, Utah, May 24, 2023 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

While The Crack Shack’s location is right across the street from seeming competitor Chick-fil-A, Peña said he is wishing his neighbors “well” and doesn’t necessarily consider them in the same category: Think a Red Robin versus a McDonald’s.  

The rustic interior decor of The Crack Shack is filled with humor, with the wallpaper featuring “Napoleon Dynamite” with a chicken head, a scene from “Jurassic Park” with a giant chicken in place of the T-Rex and a sign that says “Sauce at your own risk.” There is communal seating and games for people to play. The big chicken outside taunts with a sign that reads, “Do not climb the chicken.”

Unique among many local restaurants, The Crack Shack also is catering to a different clientele: dogs. There’s a pet patio complete with artificial grass as well as another turf area for those who walk on two legs to partake in games like cornhole.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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