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Date: 9/6/2022
CHICOPEE – The Easthampton seafood staple Captain Jack’s Roadside Shack is opening their food truck expansion on Sept. 10 in Chicopee Center. The food truck will operate on Saturdays until November as a trial run before operating five-days a week starting in spring 2023.
The groundbreaking celebration will include disc jockeys DJ Rusty J and DJ Billy’s Junk, art vendors and two other food truck entities, Island Spice and The Thai Truck. Each food truck will offer a $2.50 “flavor bomb” item that gives participants a sample of the trucks’ cuisine. The event begins at 12 p.m.
Owner Kevin Sahagian envisions the grand opening as the start of exciting new business venture in Chicopee.
“It’s really going to be a fun time … This is going to be a spot to have a decent time,” said Sahagian in an interview with Reminder Publishing.
Background
Captain Jack’s opened originally in Easthampton over 11 years ago. The restaurant represented a creation of Sahagian’s own design after working for years as a chef at several Boston eateries.
“I just like the lifestyle out here, I wanted to come back out and open a restaurant with affordable, approachable food done in higher-quality restaurant techniques,” said Sahagian.
Sahagian saved up to purchase the shack’s 102 Northampton St. location, which used to exist as a used car lot building. He and his team transformed the space into an old-fashioned shack, utilizing the new restaurant as a platform for fresh, local seafood.
The owner and chef infused his culinary experience into the fabric of Captain Jack’s menu. He stressed that the key to making great seafood relies upon gathering great sources of regional fish, with Sahagian utilizing his Boston connections.
“When I worked in Boston, I became familiar with a lot of the piers and the people who get certain items in … We do very little to it, but we just get good product,” said Sahagian.
Vision for Chicopee
The debut of Captain Jack’s in Chicopee marks a new chapter of growth for the business and the revitalizing Chicopee Center downtown alike. Sahagian said his interest in Chicopee started when he learned about the city’s opening request for quotation (RFQ) submissions for the newly developed Center Park in the downtown.
Sahagian views several similarities between Chicopee and Easthampton. He believes that Chicopee is set for an economic breakout similar to what Easthampton has seen over the past few decades, offering opportunities for young entrepreneurs to establish unique, new business entities at an affordable cost.
“Chicopee is really about to take off with a growth of young entrepreneurs going there. Easthampton was the same way 20 years ago…Chicopee seems to be right in the beginning of that phase and it’s exciting to see this city really take off,” said Sahagian.
Sahagian aspires to make Captain Jack’s a catalyst of economic development. The restaurant owner said he will be incorporating other food trucks from talented chefs. Considering rises in inflation and other challenges facing restaurant owners, Sahagian views food trucks as the most accessible means for highlighting culinary perspectives.
“The food industry that we knew and love is on its last leg…this is the way if you would like to own and operate a restaurant because it’s affordable,” said Sahagian.
With it’s limited initial opening, Sahagian expressed his preference for establishing the business on the right foot.
“I’d rather do it right, make it last, make it work and come in next year guns blazing…we’re in for the long run,” said Sahagian.
Mayor John Vieau also shared his enthusiasm for Captain Jack’s inclusion in Chicopee.
“There is a lot of potential. We are trying to showcase what our downtown is, that small-town energy is what I want to see developed,” said Vieau.
Readers can learn more about Captain Jack’s Roadside Shack at https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Jacks-Roadside-Shack-107858715951385/.