Shellukes Bar and Grill to celebrate 20 years in Fremont

FREMONT ― Shelley Hoppes and her family, friends and staff have kept their business running for two decades.

On Tuesday, the owner of Shellukes Bar and Grill is holding a 20th anniversary celebration at the business located at 1673 E. State St.

Twenty years ago, Hoppes purchased the east-end business with partner Luther Fox. "The day we took over, he left the next day for Florida," she said. Hoppes said she was cleaning the shop 19 to 20 hours a day preparing for an opening. In the meantime, her partner called her from Florida and proclaimed he came up with the perfect name for her business — Shellukes ― a combination of both their names, as he was known as Luke to friends.

Hoppes said her partner died six years ago and she is now sole proprietor. The bar and grill is known for its beverages, daily comfort food specials and menu, and as a business that will host assorted fundraisers for the community.

"We offer daily specials which usually are not on the menus. They are comfort homes-style food," she said. Those lunch specials can range from lasagna and chicken Alfredo to a mashed potato bowl.

Shellukes has many familiar faces on staff

Another plus for the business is it has had some of the same employees for all 20 years including Hoppes' sister, Denise Barnes, and friend Janet Piper. “Every family member that I have has worked at my bar at one time or other,” she said, including her two sons.

“Well, besides marrying the owner 12 years ago ... I love the changes that have been made over the year," said Dave Hoppes, 59, of Fremont. "Remodeling the bar gave it the sports bar feel. The food is great, and I love to spend time here with friends.”

“We boast you come in a stranger and you leave as a friend, "Shelley Hoppes said. "We are a family-oriented, with a hometown feel.” She said the bar and grill has had a core of about 20 regulars.

Jeremy “Jerm” Shelley, 49, of Vickery, said he has been coming into the establishment since it opened in 2004. “I love the sports bar feel. They have the best food and service in Fremont. We’re all family in here, and we Browns fans love harassing all of the Steelers fans."

Shellukes serves food daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and offers carryout. Children are welcome. Breakfast is available between 6 and 11 a.m.

During those first two years, Shellukes did not even have a kitchen, and other than alcoholic beverages all they could offer was a heated frozen pizza and the like.

Early on the owners converted a storage room into a kitchen. "That became our kitchen and we added on through the years," Shelley Hoppes said.

“We’ve have expanded our kitchen, updated the bar, added a new patio, paved the parking lot," she said about other changes over the past two decades.

Shellukes' food kept them going during COVID-19

The expanded kitchen and bigger menu saved Shellukes during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The bar and grill had to follow state and federal guidelines relating to the COVID-19 shutdown. They offered takeout and delivery. While they were permitted to sell two acholic drinks with each meal, most people were looking for Shellukes' food.

"We did whatever we could to bring money in," Shelley Hoppes said.

"We had to tell people there was a two-hour wait," she said about the numbers of orders coming in. Staying busy saved the business.

Hoppes said she remembers being creative during the pandemic. Patrons' names were entered into a weekly drawing for toilet paper, for which there was a national shortage. She was keeping a tough situation lighthearted.

Shelly Hoppes, who will turn 60 in March, said when she and her partner opened Shellukes, she did not imagine the bar and grill would be at the same business 20 years later.

“I honestly I did not know what to expect," she said. "I had high hopes that it would be a success, never dreaming that it would be where I am today."

To celebrate 20 years in business, Shellukes will have a slate of events and food Tuesday. There will be free appetizers between 1 and 6 p.m., live entertainment with Zak Shaffer from 3 to 6 p.m., and at 6:30 p.m. Hoppes will hold a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Then, from 7 to 9 p.m., customers will be invited to play trivia on the history of Shellukes or activities of 20 years ago. There also will be hourly drawings

Shelley Hoppes, who works daily at her business, plans to keep working for another 10 years. Maybe then she will be able to pass it on to another family member, she said.

Douglas Hise contributed to this article.

rbrooks@gannett.com

419-334-1059

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont Ohio bar and grill Shellukes celebrates 20 years in business