Wade McIntyre holds crawfish Friday Dec. 4, 2015 at his restaurant, Wade's Place, in Chandler. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

In the heart of Chandler lies a lively business named Wade’s Place. For officially 10 years now, Wades has been successfully drawing people in from all over.

What started as a small family business has grown significantly over the last 10 years, proven by the line that is often seen stretching all the way around the building and sometimes even out the door.

Anne McIntyre said that she and her husband, Wade McIntyre, had always dreamed of opening their own restaurant, and made that dream come true.

“We dropped each of our careers and jumped in the restaurant business with both feet,” Anne McIntyre said. “Luckily it has been very good to us.”

Wade’s Place is now known for its boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp and laid-back atmosphere amongst other things.

While business is booming for this local restaurant, they have stayed true to the idea of keeping it family run.

Anne and Wade McIntyre, along with their three daughters, have been working together since the beginning to make Wade’s Place the success it is today. All of their daughters work at the restaurant full time and they love having them there, Anne McIntyre said.

With all of them sharing this experience together, Wade’s Place has come to feel like part of the family itself.

When you’re having fun, spending time with your family, and doing what you love, time really flies, Anne McIntyre said. She added that it’s hard to believe that it has already been 10 years.

Through the years of business the family has seen the business continuously grow despite hardships, such as the pandemic. Anne McIntyre said that it has grown to be more than they ever imagined it would be, making them proud of how far they have come.

“It still amazes us on a daily basis how many new customers we have each day,” she said. “I hear all the time, ‘we have heard all about Wade’s Place and we had to come try it.’ Everyone leaves with ‘we will be back.’”

Through visiting with customers, they have noticed that a lot of locals come out on Wednesdays and Thursdays when it’s a little less busy, but on the weekends people come from everywhere. Anne McIntyre added that it’s amazing to see how far of a reach Wade’s Place has.

For them, the key to success is hard work and dedication. When Wade’s Place is open, you can find the whole family working to serve their customers the best food possible.

“We wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we weren’t serving great food to our huge returning customer base weekly,” Anne McIntyre said.

As they grow, many customers ask when they will be moving to a bigger location. For the Macintyre family, that is an easy question to answer — they don’t plan on moving anywhere.

“We realize that it may get crowded and the line to order gets long, but it’s just who we are,” Anne McIntyre said. “It’s all part of the Wade’s Place experience.”

The support of Roxie and Jerry Holley, the owners of the building where Wade’s Place is located, and their customers means the world to them, she said. Without each and every one of these people, Wade’s Place wouldn’t be where it was today.

Wade’s Place is located at 104 E Main St. in Chandler.