Restaurateurs Jeff van Dyke and Bruce Moffett, alongside Van Dyke’s son Connor, are teaming up to bring a new seafood restaurant called Half Shell to the Charlotte community. The restaurant will join residential tower Linea in South End. The spot is expected to open in a 3,221-square-foot space with a 1,000-square-foot covered patio near the end of 2025, Van Dyke told What Now Charlotte.
They were inspired to create the Half Shell concept because of their love for seafood and oysters and the gap they see for it in the Charlotte market. They were attracted to Linea because of the energy of the area, with Sycamore Brewing next door and True Food Kitchen heading to the neighborhood this year.
“South End has a need for what we are going to do,” Van Dyke said. “There’s not anything like it in South End right now.”
The team is working with Cluck Design on the design of the space. Customers can expect patinas and natural materials such as leather, concrete and wood to play large roles in the design.
“We’re hoping to get a warm space with character and I think it will be a good addition to the neighborhood,” Van Dyke said.
The menu will feature fresh oysters from both coasts as well as shrimp, ceviche, lobster rolls, seared tuna sandwiches, po’boys and seafood towers.
Van Dyke and Moffett have extensive experience in the local restaurant scene. Van Dyke is part of the team behind Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, which launched in Charlotte in 1998, and is the owner of Boardwalk Billy’s Raw Bar and Ribs, which also opened in 1998 and now has two locations in Charlotte. Van Dyke offers a raw bar at Boardwalk Billy’s Raw Bar and Ribs that serves oysters, shrimp, crab legs and steampots.
Moffett is the owner of Moffett Restaurant Group, which has multiple concepts in its portfolio, including Barrington’s, a New American restaurant that opened in South Park in 2000, and longstanding Italian concept Stagioni.
