As Covid-19 spread across the country, and restaurants were forced to shut their doors, the oystermen supplying these restaurants found themselves with no one to buy their product.
"It was really scary, because when the restaurants shut down, we were actually harvesting for them, " said Boris Guerro of Grand Isle Sea Farms.
Most of the business for oysters comes from restaurants ordering in bulk, unlike other forms of seafood there isn't as much infastructure in place for "direct to customer sales".
So for Grand Isle Sea Farms this presented them with a unique opportunity, already having a strong social media presence they started using their platform to get their product to consumers.
"With social media we were able to reach out to people," said Boris.
Steadily that side of the business has been growing and without the restaurants they're forced to make deliveries themselves, making an already long day even longer.
"We set everything up and we go harvest, and then within an hour we're back and everything in the cooler. Then we start processing our oysters, back to the cooler and we go deliver."
Not all of it is hand delivered though, and partnering with different companies such as Wild Child wines in Lafayette they've been able to expand their reach to other parts of the state.
Creating something, they say will likely continue even when the restaurants come back.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Download our free app for Apple,Android, Roku and Amazon devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
