Kings Mountain fish camp serves up seafood and sense of community

Darriel Love remembers standing on a milkcrate to be tall enough to work the line at Love's Fish Box.

He grew up in the restaurant and together with brother, Danny Love, he now runs the fish camp that was started 56 years ago by his grandfather and father. Both of the Love brothers have children and grandchildren who help out in the business, making it five generations who have served food to the Kings Mountain community.

Love's Fish Box was launched in 1968 by Roy Norman and Olin Love in a small brick building that started out as a modest community store, but was forced to close when 7-11 and chain grocery stores pushed Norman out of business.

Olin Love had a landscaping business but sold it to his partner and went into business with his father.

"Our dad was always a great cook," Danny Love said. "Our grandmother taught him."

Darriel Love said their uncle had a fish camp, and he passed on his knowledge and expertise to his dad and grandfather.

"They opened up, and the rest is history," Danny Love said.

Eventually, they moved out of the small store into their current location on Shelby Road. Originally it was all carry-out but in 2003, they added the dining room that seats 185 people.

Darriel Love said the mayor at the time, Rick Murphrey, attended the ribbon cutting for the dining room and called Love's "the pillar of the community."

In an age where fish camps, once a North Carolina staple, are becoming a relic of the past, Love's is still going strong in its fifth decade.

Customers walk through the front doors and up to the counter, order their salt and pepper catfish with fresh hushpuppies, flounder filet with a potato or green shrimp and coleslaw and then take a seat in the adjoining dining room and wait for their order to be called.

In addition to the regular fish camp fare of fried, grilled and broiled seafood, the restaurant also offers hand breaded chicken tenders, burgers, sandwiches and more.

Darriel Love said these days, they sell as much chicken tenders as anything else, and their diverse menu is one of the reasons they've been able to sustain their business while other fish camps have faded away.

Signed photos of Jimmy Wayne, singer and song writer who still enjoys Love's seafood when he visits his hometown, hang beside an Our State feature from 2017.

The dining room is decorated with fish, harpoons, nets and other antiques that were mostly collected by Olin Love, including a clock that belonged to Darriel and Danny Love's grandmother who had inherited it from her father.

These days, the two brothers, who work side by side and live next door to each other, have mostly hung up the chef's hat and stay out of the kitchen.

Danny Love said he enjoys the customers.

"We do a lot more talking to customers than anything," Darriel Love said.

The brothers said they hope the food is what brings people in and keeps them coming back, but it's about more than a full belly.

"It's a place to gather too," Darriel Love said. "We have people come in and sit and stay for hours."

Reach reporter Rebecca Sitzes at rsitzes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Kings Mountain fish camp has spent five decades serving seafood