CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As North Carolina captivates the NASCAR world the next two weekends, fans, drivers and locals might make a stop at Big Daddy’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar of Lake Norman.
The 50-year-old Lake Norman staple is known for its seafood and a particular kind of roof decor that should thrill visiting NASCAR fans.
“We had another business called Racing Decor, and we built hoods, gas cans, body sides, and stuff like that. We went to shows, and we had the Earnhardt car as a display. I set it up on the roof one day as a joke, to see what would happen,” owner Freddie Lancaster said.
Freddie is the third generation of Lancaster to own Big Daddy’s.
The Lake Norman location is known to occasionally stop traffic, with its collection of Cup Series NASCAR race cars on the roof. It’s home to a Dale Earnhardt Goodwrench #3, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard #88 and current driver Brad Keselowski’s King’s Hawaiian #6.
“We’re just in the location, everybody that works in NASCAR, just about, is around this area. Have a lot of drivers, crew members, owners come and eat with us all the time,” Lancaster said.
The restaurants started with his grandfather’s spot on Kure Beach in the mid-1960s. At its height, the Lancaster family owned five locations across North Carolina, before downsizing in the 1980s. Now, the Lake Norman location is the last one owned by the family.
“My granddaddy had some property at the beach, Kure Beach, and he had an arcade, hot dogs, hamburgers, putt-putt, bicycles, and all that stuff. People started coming to the beach, they wanted seafood, so he opened a seafood restaurant,” Lancaster said.
Big Daddy’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Lake Norman opened in 1974, and Lancaster said it is still a family affair.
“I started off dish-washing when I was 13. Well, younger than 13, I was cooking at 13. But I’ve been in it all my life. My kids are in it, my son-in-law’s in it, my wife works with me. They all work with me every day,” Lancaster said.
Seven nights a week, starting at 4:30 p.m., Lancaster and his staff open the doors for customers who come from far and wide.
“We get them from worldwide, all over. From England, California, wherever you think. They come from everywhere to eat with us,” Lancaster said.
And there are dozens of menu options to choose from.
“Fried seafood, steamed, lobsters, lobster tails. We have a 51-seat oyster bar. We shuck oysters for you, by the bucket, half bucket or dozen,” Lancaster listed.
But he recommends the flounder chunks.
“They’re cut in squares and salt and peppered, they’re really good. Try ‘em, or fried lobster tails,” Lancaster added.
The recipes are from the family’s 60 years in the restaurant business — simple, old school and made fresh to order, according to Lancaster.
So you can stop by for the stock cars and stay for the seafood.