As seafood boils and steamer businesses grow, here are 3 offering take-home experiences
Call them Lowcountry boils or seafood steam pots, but communities along the coast have known for decades that these one-pot meals are a convenient way to feed groups of hungry people. In recent years, businesses have stepped in to offer this kind of dining experience, from national chains and grocery store products to private chefs and event companies. A few local businesses, though, specialize in these seafood boils.
Danielle Mahon had a corporate career in Raleigh before she started Topsail Steamer. She always had an eye for entrepreneurship and finally decided to take the leap when she came across this idea. She opened the first location in 2017, and there are now seven locations from New Jersey to Florida.
And Matt Khouri created the Outer Banks Boil Company out of what started as a senior project at UNCW. The company now includes 12 locations, both corporately owned and franchises. He also helped start the Cape Fear Boil Company, which has since become its own business. Tyler Graham opened a second location CFBC location in Oak Island this year.
For the most part, all offer a meal that includes basics like corn, potatoes, sausages and seasoning with a customizable selection of seafood. Here’s a look at these companies with local ties.
Topsail Steamer
From that first location at 302 S. Topsail Drive in Surf City, Mahon and her family soon added a second location in Wrightsville Beach at 530 Causeway Drive. You can now find three others in her native New Jersey, as well as one in Delaware and in Florida, on Anna Maria Island. The Bay Buckets come in a variety of options, which can include shrimp, scallops and lobster, that you prepare at home in a recyclable one-time use pot.
“We found that it hits all the marks for what people want,” Mahon said. “It’s healthy, it’s a great vacation meal, and it offers an experience.”
While the locations are in coastal towns, she ships the buckets all over the country using the online food marketplace Goldbelly. So, she knows that people want them even when they’re not at the beach. Mahon said the next step for Topsail Steamer is opening in traditional markets. She’s hoping to announce franchise locations in Raleigh and Charlotte soon.
Outer Banks Boil Company
Khouri is a Maryland native who spent summers in the Outer Banks when he attended college in Wilmington. For many years, he worked a variety of beach jobs, from teaching surfing lessons to waiting tables. One of those jobs became very official when he opened the first storefront in Corolla in 2015.
He started growing the business not long after, but the pandemic did slow some of the plans, while giving an overall boost to this type of private dining experience. There are five franchises locations, and OBBC owns seven, including one that opened at 5003 E. Oak Island Drive in Brunswick County this summer.
They offer both take-home pots and catering. People love it, he said, because it makes for a memorable meal and it's an also ideal way to feed a group of people. The growth of the company has been very organic, he said, and they’ve just added a non-profit arm to help coastal communities.
Cape Fear Boil Company
Offering seafood boils for vacationers has long been a side hustle for Tyler Graham. With the opening of the storefront in Carolina Beach at 1140 N. Lake Park Blvd in 2016, he was also able to start offering take-and-bake options for groups of any size. Catering larger groups, though, is still a large part of the business. This year, he added a location in Oak Island at 6402 E. Oak Island Drive. The menu includes options with shrimp, clams, crabs and lobster, which is sourced locally from markets like Seaview Crab Company and Haag & Sons Seafood when possible.
“Between those two shops, we can really work events from Emerald Isle to Myrtle Beach,” he said, where they provide all the extras from equipment to beer and wine. Business now is about 60% take out and 40% catering, he said. “And our crew is a group of people, many of them UNCW grads, who add to the entertainment and experience.”
More: Divers, seafood markets and chefs want to help North Carolina with its lionfish problem
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest food news by signing up for the Port City Foodies newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Seafood boils and steamer pots grow in popularity
