Brian Tipps, right, owner of The Heart Attack Shack, chats with Buddy Strickland and Esther Helton, Thursday at East Ridge’s newest restaurant.
A new business with a catchy name opened its doors for patrons on Thursday.
The Heart Attack Shack, a restaurant specializing in burgers, wings, nachos and fries, had its soft opening today and is planning on a big grand opening sometime later in the month.
Brian Tipps, a Nashville businessman, is the owner of the new place at 4345 Ringgold Road, right across Choate Road from the venerated Mack’s Highway Market. Bob Uldrich, a businessman with vast experience in the retail sector, is Tipps’s right-hand man.
Tipps said his motto for Heart Attack Shack is “Real Good, Bigger Portions, Better Prices.” Judging from the plate of french fries _ you can get them cut four different ways _ brought along with a half-pound of ground beef all dressed out between a massive bun, he’s serious about the “Bigger Portions” element of the motto.
Tipps, who grew up poor in Winchester, Tennessee, explained about the massive portions.
“My grand-dad had a chicken farm,” said the oldest of three Tipps brothers. “My dad, a foreman at Winchester Power, bought a trailer for a hundred dollars where we lived. I understand a hard-earned dollar. You work for what you get. I understand all about stretching your dollar.”
A burger (always made fresh) with a huge plate of fries (you get to choose special sauces) and a drink will set you back less than 10 bucks, Tipps said. If you’re pressed for time, go online and order ahead of time. It will be ready for pickup when you get to Heart Attack Shack. If you want to sit down and eat, that’s cool, there’s seating for 16 people inside. (The layout kind of puts me in mind of the legendary Burger House).
Tipps, who owns several other restaurants, said he can’t take credit for the catchy name of the establishment.
“The credit goes to Justin Howarth, my manager here for that idea,” Tipps said. “I call him ‘The Architect’ of Heart Attack Shack. Hey, you’re not going to have a heart attack. It’s a light-hearted name. We want to have some fun.”
Howarth, who has two young boys of his own, sat down and explained the origin of the business name. In another restaurant he worked at there was an off menu burger that was enormous that everyone called “The Heart Attack,” he said. People would come in and order it all the time; hence the name of the new place. Plus, Howarth said, te name is fun and it could help in this age of social media.
“I see a lot of Facebook posts with a photo of a plate and #heartattack,” Howarth said. “You know, it kind of rhymes, too.
In keeping with the fun, the restaurant has dandy little T-shirts that say “I Survived a Heart Attack.”
So, East Ridge’s newest restaurant is open Monday thru Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Friday and Saturday they stay open until 8 p.m.
Check out the portions on these fries and nachos at Heart Attack Shack.
