ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The rule at Shawn’s House of Burgers is definitely not eat more chicken.

And it’s not even eat more cow.

“Cow’s rule, chickens drool,” Buddy Chandler says with a grin.

Chandler opened the new restaurant in The Wharf in July in the old Johnny Rockets place right next to the Ferris wheel. The idea for the restaurant was the brainchild of Eastern Shore Toyota owner Shawn Esfahani.

Inside that business, Chandler and his wife run the café where staff and customers alike can grab a sandwich.

“One day we went to Shawn to see about if we could get a hood vent system in the café so we could do more,” Chandler said. “A couple of days later he came back and asked me ‘Buddy, you got another restaurant in you because I really want that old Johnny Rockets building in The Wharf.’ And if would get that building, he would help me in opening it.”

For Esfahani, it was that building or nothing.

“Quite honestly, he was interested in no other building,” Chandler said. “I told him there were other buildings we could possibly do a little better in. He said no ‘I want that building.’”

Chandler began working on acquiring property in January and signed the lease in June. The restaurant first opened on July 2 just in time for the July 4 holiday.

“I got it opened in 20 days and there’s a lot to be said for a restaurant that’s been sitting, I think, for two years,” he said. “It’s as dirty as you can imagine. It took us quite a while to get it cleaned.

“Opening the restaurant on the week of July Fourth we found is very challenging. We got through some of the hard times and realized real quickly what we needed to do and change. We had an extremely large menu when we opened. I’ve already cut it down twice. We’ll probably cut it down again.”

But one part of the menu that won’t change is the burgers. In fact, those offerings are likely to expand.

“The burger section seems to be in place,” he said. “We will add some more burgers like the black and blue burger.”

Want an egg with that?

“We have some great burgers, unusual burgers like our hamburger de Poulet,” Chandler said. “It’s a burger with an over easy egg on top. It’s very popular overseas. It’s served with bacon and cheddar cheese.”

The unique burger offerings don’t stop there.

“One of my favorite is the peanut butter burger which is literally creamy peanut butter on both sides,” Chandler said. “We top that with bacon. The most popular burger is our cheesiest burger. It comes with four different kinds of cheese on top. Its sharp cheddar, Swiss, American and provolone all melted on top.”

The Cuban burger has ground pork infused in it and is topped with ham. The Hercules is on pita bread with feta cheese, special sauce and it has lamb meat with the burger. Shawn’s also has a fish burger and a catch of the day Rueben, both with white fish, “anywhere from tilapia to mahi mahi.”

Another unusual taste is the South of the Border burger served on a sizzling skillet topped with onions and peppers and served with flour tortillas, cheese, pico, guacamole and sour cream.

“The pizza burger is real popular with the kids,” Chandler said. “We’re probably going to have to put that on the kids’ menu as well. It’s like supreme pizza stuffed in a hamburger and then we top it with a marinara sauce and pepperoni on ciabatti bread.”

Chandler says all the burgers come from fresh beef and are freshly patted out daily. All burgers come with a choice of fries, curly fries or onion straws.

Shawn’s has healthy offerings as well.

“The black bean burger, the veggie burger and the turkey burger,” he said. “The veggie burger is topped with cucumber, lettuce, tomato avocado. We also offer steamed broccoli or a side salad.”

The restaurant offers seafood platters and po’ boy sandwiches as well.

“We do realize that as long as we’re in this part of the country that we’re going to have to have some seafood,” Chandler said. “I’m getting rave reviews on our shrimp basket and our Three Shrimp Dudes is fried shrimp, blackened shrimp and lemon-lime shrimp.”

Wings come in three different flavors including a secret “Fat Boy” sauce first made by a friend from Atlanta who has since passed.

“The only person who knows the recipe is my daughter,” Chandler said. “Anytime we need some of the sauce, she makes it and brings it to my wife at Eastern Shore Toyota. It’s tangy, and spicy, not like a buffalo sauce, however. It’s thicker, more like a barbecue sauce. It’s kind of fun keeping it a secret.”

Other appetizers include fried pickles and fried green tomatoes with a homemade fried green tomato salsa.

On the dessert menu are a cheesecake trio, five-layer chocolate cake with ice cream and hot fudge and a Sweet Cinnamon Supreme Martini served in a 32-ounce martini glass.

“It’s definitely a sharer,” Chandler says. Shawn’s also offers smoothies and hand-dipped milk shakes.

Chandler says the restaurant offers full-service catering and can serve the restaurant’s fare, but can also prepare and cater to any type of menu request.