Bringing the North Carolina coast to Clemmons for 20 years, Full Moon Oyster Bar is notorious for its dynamic dining experience, fresh oysters and seafood entrees, and one-of-a-kind team of dedicated employees. In fact, the ambiance and unique menu items at Full Moon Oyster Bar have grown so popular that the restaurant has now infiltrated North Carolina in six different cities and counting.
Customers gather at Full Moon Oyster Bar for its exciting atmosphere and communal dining. While chowing down on North Carolina oysters, diners never know who they’re going to sit next to each visit. With a fresh seafood dinner combined with socialization, diners come to Full Moon as strangers and leave as friends.
First-time Full Moon Oyster Bar patrons will be intrigued by menu items with a Cajun and Creole flair such as alligator cheesecake, inspired by a dish at the ever-popular New Orleans eatery Jacques-Imo’s. Oyster novices can slowly dip their toes into oyster-filled waters by introducing their palettes to chargrilled oysters served with New Orleans French bread, if trying raw oysters is too daunting of a task. Full Moon Oyster Bar also serves up its homemade, secret recipe banana pudding cake to customers who aren’t too full for dessert. With the exception of Chilean sea bass, all fish served at Full Moon is fresh and never frozen. Can’t get your fill of Cajun and Creole food? Stop by Full Moon Oyster Bar for a quick trip to New Orleans to dine on Shrimp Etouffee, Voodoo Shrimp, and delectable dinner specials without leaving Clemmons.
Full Moon president Randy Russell puts just as much effort into the food at Full Moon as he puts into creating a close-knit workplace for his staff. Much of the Clemmons’ location’s positive employee morale and strikingly low turnover rates for two decades can be attributed to management’s mission in taking care of its team. At Full Moon, employees know that they can count on their employers and colleagues for anything from financial assistance and a living wage to emotional support during troublesome times.
In April, the Full Moon family was grief-stricken following the sudden passing of John “Shug” Carethers, Full Moon’s head chef of 16 years. All staff members stepped up to help Shug’s family and daughter, including Shug’s older brother and executive chef Ty Carethers, along with General Manager Rob Russell, the proud son of Randy. By pulling together, team members were able to raise money for a funeral and participated in Shug’s celebration of life in order to pay their condolences to Shug and his family, complete with food and an open bar at the Full Moon Oyster Bar.
The untimely and tragic passing of John “Shug” Carethers was an unexpected blow to Full Moon Oyster Bar’s morale, especially after weathering the COVID-19 storm throughout 2020 and 2021. The pandemic and its restrictions posed an exceptional threat to Full Moon’s iconic communal dining experience, but with gracious landlords and loyal staff members, Full Moon was able to temporarily shut down and come back stronger than before. Instead of compromising the integrity of their seafood products by serving only takeout, the team determined that customers deserved a complete Full Moon dining experience and would wait to shuck oysters until it was safe to welcome diners once again.
Customers can count on Full Moon to fill their stomachs on weeknights, weekends, and in times of need. When Hurricane Florence struck the North Carolina coast in August 2018, Full Moon’s Atlantic Beach location had only been open for two months before it was decimated by strong winds and rain. Although insurance was the location’s saving grace, other members of the Atlantic Beach community were not so lucky. To combat the devastation, the Full Moon team served over 4,500 hamburgers and 5,000 hotdogs to locals and first responders suffering the loss of their homes and trying to survive without electricity.
Full Moon Oyster Bar’s reputation speaks for itself throughout the community as a stand-up seafood joint that feels like home. To learn more, visit fullmoonoysterbar.com, check out @fullmoonoysterbarandseafoodrestaurant on Facebook, and follow @fullmoonoysterbarclemmons on Instagram to see what the Clemmons staff is up to. Visit the Clemmons location for dinner at 1473 River Ridge Dr., and call the store at (336) 712-8200 to speak to a team member.
