SURF CITY, N.C. — Shaka Taco and Surf City Surf School remain open year-round. They are currently prepping as the slow season begins to ramp up into the summer months. 

What You Need To Know

  • Tourist season is typically from Memorial Day to Labor Day

  • With warmer water temperatures earlier in the year, more people are coming out to the beach sooner

  • Some coastal towns make the most revenue during the four months of tourist season 

Cody Leutgens is a part owner of Shaka Taco and Surf City Surf School — a staple on the island. 

The shop started out as a surf school and a clothing line, but when his good friend Steve Christian moved home, the popular tacos were born. 

“Busted this giant hole in the wall and kind of turned it into a service window. And pretty much the rest has kind of just been history, selling fish tacos all day, every day,” Leutgens said.

Leutgens and Christian wanted to expand the food choices on the island and support local fishers, farmers and community members through their business. 

“If you were going to go out to eat, you know, five or six years ago, you were going to have fried chicken or hamburgers. So we decided to find the freshest vegetables and fish. We could cut them all up, put them in the tortilla, and have a lot of fun with it,” Leutgens said. 

Like many coastal businesses, Shaka Taco and the Surf School rely on the four months of summer to make their living. 

“To us personally, we try to stay open all year. We do adjust hours when it gets colder because we are outside. But for the most part we want somebody to have a year-round job and basically get some rest in the wintertime and get ready to bust your butt and, you know, come summer,” Leutgens said. 

The effects of high inflation aren’t a worry for the small surf town’s business owner. 

“People still are going to go to the beach. They want to go to vacation. You know, I meet people every year that say, you know, we have 51 weeks of hell and one week in heaven. And a lot of times that’s Surf City or Topsail Island,” Leutgens said. 

He says he has high hopes and is ready for the busy tourist season.

“I think 2023 is going to be a great summer. I think everybody’s going to have a really fun summer. And, you know, fingers crossed, no bad storms. And we’ll see at the end of the summer how it goes,” Leutgens said.