Sugar Shack hopes unique fare drives in customers

After seeing success in the Pahrump Valley with their first restaurant, a second establishment was a given for a family of local business owners.

Larry and Diane Chumley, owners and operators of Mom’s Cafe, have gradually built a reputation over the past six years after opening up the popular eatery in 2009.

Wanting to offer a new option to the Pahrump Valley and at the same time not directly go up against Mom’s Cafe, the couple came up with the idea of Sugar’s Shack cowboy steakhouse.

“In a town like this I don’t want to compete with myself,” Larry Chumley said. “So whatever I was going to do, it had to be completely different. So I do a little research and there’s Chinese and Japanese, but there’s only one steakhouse in town. So I figured it was a good opportunity for a steakhouse.”

Located on 100 W. Stagecoach Road, Sugar’s Shack, named after the Chumley’s daughter Sharlee “Sugar” Horvath, who co-owns and operates the eatery, opened on Sept. 1 and offers an array of carnivorous delights including several varieties of steak, burgers, chicken and seafood you’d expect from a steakhouse.

But there’s one item on the menu that has quickly become the most popular choice: Sugar’s Shack’s famous southern fried chicken.

The fried chicken has taken on a life of its own, as they went from serving the flavorful fare just in-house, to selling the chicken by the buckets for takeout after popular demand.

“Pretty much the secret to any food is to go back to basics and don’t fix something that’s not broke,” Larry Chumley said. “Our fried chicken, I get people asking, ‘what is the secret to the batter?’ There is no secret. I mean there’s flour, salt and pepper and that’s all there is to it.”

What gives it that made-from-home feeling is that the fried chicken is cooked-to-order, using pressure cookers, which allows the chicken to cook a little faster than frying it in a pan, keeping all the juices inside the meat.

The steakhouse is located a bit off the beaten path, but Chumley said the unique options that Sugar’s Shack offers will attract customers.

“I feel that with the two items, the fried chicken and the steak, that they’ll come find me,” Chumley said. “If I would just opened another diner or coffee shop or something like that in town, why would they drive out here?”

Already having Mom’s Diner in town, Chumley said spreading the word of their new business to their loyal customers helped draw the initial guests to the steakhouse.

“We try to cross-advertise and it works out real well,” he said. “We are very, very popular at Mom’s and this one is growing.”

Social media has also played a key role getting Sugar’s Shack where it is today, as Chumley said customers have been posting about their meals online.

Although Chumley is happy with the growth in their first six months at Sugar’s Shack, he thinks it will take a bit longer than Mom’s Diner to have the steady flow of customers.

“It took about six months over there (Mom’s Diner) to really take off and I think it will take closer to a year here for us to reach what we’re aiming for,” he said.

Horvath is also pleased with the business so far and sees a bright future for Sugar’s Shack.

“It’s doing good. Every day it seems to get busier and busier and the word is getting out and people are coming here to try us,” Horvath said.

There are plans for a small addition to the restaurant, allowing for new restrooms, an office space and around four new tables. The establishment will remain open once the remodel begins.

Sugar’s Shack is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and they can be reached at (775) 537-2133.