- December 4, 2025
The owners and partners of Hammock Grill by JT's. From left to right: Executive Chef Jay McNitt, Brandy Doering and Johnny Doering. Photo by Sierra Williams
The Hammock Grill by JT's menu is a more updated, affordable menu from JT's Seafood Shack. Pictured: shrimp and grits. Photo courtesy of Hammock Grille
The owners and partners of Hammock Grill by JT's. From left to right: Brandy and Johnny Doering and Executive Chef Jay McNitt and wife and restaurant partner Kayla McNitt. Courtesy of Hammock Grill by JT's
The Hammock Grill by JT's menu is a more updated, affordable menu from JT's Seafood Shack. Pictured: a Hammock Grill smash burger. Photo courtesy of Hammock Grille
After just three years in retirement, the original owners of JT’s Seafood Shack are back in charge of the restaurant and have rebranded under a new name: The Hammock Grill by JT’s.
Owner Johnny Doering said he and his wife Brandy left the Seafood Shack after the COVID-19 pandemic. They sold the building, leased the land out and entered retirement.
“At the end of covid, we were just exhausted,” Doering said. “I mean, we were just pretty much done.”
The Hammock Grill by JT's is located in the same building that housed JT's Seafood Shack, located at 5224 N. Ocean Shore Blvd. The Doerings reopened in February after partnering with long-time employee and Executive Chef Jay McNitt and his wife Kayla.
The Doerings originally purchased the building in 2001. At the time, Doering said, it had been a biker bar, with a tattoo parlor and trailers out back. It took a lot of work to clean up the place and build up the reputation into the Seafood Shack.
For the next 20 years, the two ran JT’s Seafood Shack, keeping it going even through the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was only three years into their retirement that the Doerings decided to reclaim ownership of the restaurant.
“[The building] was in disrepair. Its reputation had taken a beating,” Doering said. “We kind of came back in and decided to re-brand, remodel, and do what needed to be done.”
With the rebrand, Brandy Doering said, not only did the building need cleaning up but the atmosphere and decor needed an update, too, to keep up with the changes in the community.
They came back with “new everything,” cleaning the inside and outside of the building.
"We were very busy before [as JT's Seafood Shack," Brandy Doering said. "I think we'll get back to that."
Now, the restaurant can seat a total of 160, including 60-70 seats in the outdoor space, which has a small, covered seating and outdoor games. The outdoor space, he said, is open for events of all kinds, from wedding receptions to holiday parties.
The menu also received a face lift, with new recipes and specials created by Jay McNitt. Doering said the team works hard to keep the menu affordable and under $30 an entree. Even the specials, which he said are more like featured dishes, Doering and McNitt try to keep under or at $30.
“We're trying to make it a place that is affordable and family friendly,” Doering said.
The specials change every Wednesday and include dinner and lunch entrees as well as cocktails and desserts.
Doering said their team is working to build back the restaurant’s reputation, but in the meantime they’re open for business from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the summer and until 9 p.m. in the winter.
Since reopening, he said, he and his wife have gotten to see a lot of the customers they got to know before their short retirement. They’re also meeting a lot of new people.
“There's been a lot of growth in the area since we left, so we're excited about that,” Doering said. “Hopefully we will be their local spot, whether it's an afternoon drink, dinner, lunch a couple times a week, whatever.”
The biggest change, he said, has been having a partner to rely on and their daughter working as a manager as well. It means the two of them can share the responsibility and take more time off as well, Brandy Doering said.
"We're all still working," she said, "but we're together doing together."
