If there were a movie version of the Shaka Taco story, it would no doubt include a scene with the two founders tandem surfing the crest of a monster wave – fists up, thumbs and pinkies waggling.

Steve Christian and Cody Leutgens are currently busy creating the fourth location of their coastal-fresh casual dining chain. They expect the 4502 Fountain Drive shop to employ about 20 workers upon opening “late spring, early summer,” according to Christian, to “give us a little wiggle room.”

That’s their way: move fast but also relax. After almost a decade, Christian and Leutgens are still stoked to be working together.

Close your eyes, and you might not be able to distinguish who’s talking. They even share the same turns of phrase.

What’s more, “We actually wear the same articles of clothing quite often by mistake,” Leutgens said. “So, we just tell people that we’re brothers or the same person. If somebody is like, ‘Hey, I’m looking for Steve.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s me. I’m Steve today.’”

Friends since their time at Topsail High School, the pair parted ways after graduation but stayed in touch.

Leutgens switched from working as an English instructor at Cape Fear Community College, who wrote freelance magazine articles, to the role of surfing instructor. When the building connected to his surf shop became available, he and Christian dreamed up Shaka Taco: seafood tacos, hand-cut vegetables and a chill, watersport vibe.

Both men are athletic. Leutgens has won surfing titles. He would eventually teach Christian, who was a Pender High School teacher and its head baseball coach, to ride a board.

“I remember sitting across the street from the original location and talking about it with Cody and being like, ‘OK, well, I’m going to have to quit my job,’” Christian said. “And he’s like, ‘Nah, I don’t think so. It won’t be that big a deal.’ And it was a big dealio.”

“It was a big fricking dealio,” Leutgens punctuated.

Christian brought a bit more restaurant experience to the eatery, having worked his way through college in kitchens in Charlotte, while Leutgens had more business experience. The owners credit their now wives with suggesting that “shaka taco” shouldn’t just be the name of a menu item. “Shaka” is the word for the “hang loose” gesture.

Three years into the endeavor, the fresh upstart was almost a wipeout.

Amid the pandemic, “you couldn’t go on the beach,” Leutgens recalled. “And then it was like, ‘Oh, you can open a little bit. You can open a little bit more.’ And then, all of a sudden, they were like … ‘The beach is open. Everything’s open. Have at it.’ And Topsail turned into a carnival. “People were everywhere,” he said. “They would park in the middle of the street, just leave their car there and go to the beach. And we were one of like two places that were outdoors in Surf City. So, you know, we had to manage that.”

The newfound demand meant it was game on. “I mean, we worked a hundred hours a week for, I don’t know, three years?” Christian said. “That’s what you have to do to build a culture and build a reputation and a brand.”

Their second and third locations, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Hawk’s Nest food court and in Hampstead, respectively, opened in 2022.

The Fountain Drive shop will have a “sandy feet” feel, similar to the Surf City location. “We’re going to try to emulate that vibe in that building and on that deck,” Leutgens said. “We want people to know that it’s extremely unpretentious, and that it is all-welcoming.”

Christian and Leutgens have about 200 employees on payroll by each summer. That includes their investment in Hampstead’s Ironclad golf course. Business has gotten easier for them and harder. The cost of everything has gone up. They can no longer afford to sling $5 tacos, even at their current high volume.

The men, now in their late 30s and each with two children, are contemplating what they will do with the business in the next five to 10 years. Add more locations that they run? Franchise out? Train their kids to take over while they go surfing?

No matter what, they will likely “carve and turn” together.

“Stephen and I are great business partners because we have a lot of yin and yang,” Leutgens said. “His temperament is a lot more mellow than mine. I think I get a little bit more stressed out, and I think that (too) is healthy for the business. I don’t want to put words in Steve’s mouth, but I think he looks at Fountain Drive and is like, ‘Oh dude, this is going to be sweet. It’ll be great.’ And I’m like, ‘What about this? What about this? What about this?’”

As they finalize the new shop, they vow to continue to have fun and to keep perspective.

“That’s something Cody preached from the very beginning,” Christian said. “We’re all here to spread stoke. We’re not saving lives. We’re just selling tacos.”