Sippican Oysters from Marion, MA

Harvest location: Marion, MA

How they’re grown: These oysters are grown in Sippican Harbor just outside of larger Marion Harbor proper, in an area that is quite open to Buzzards Bay. They spend their whole lives in floating bags, never touching the soft sand below. The water on this side of the cape is warmer, causing these oysters to reach market size quickly---they can be as young as 14 months old at the time of harvest.

Why they’re unique: Marion is well known for its wild oyster population; this was our first opportunity to work with a farmed oyster from the area. Although Cape oysters can be plentiful at certain times of year, oysters from the South Coast of Massachusetts are somewhat rare. The Sippicans are a very limited offering grown on only about an acre of land. Compare that to Island Creek’s 20 acres, and you have yourself a seriously boutique oyster.

Story: The Bryant brothers grew up in Marion playing in the marshes and harvesting wild Marion oysters as children. All three went on to have various careers on or near the water. Nat and Chris to the local shipyard, while Ben went on to get his degree in Marine Sciences at URI. Though the idea was tossed around for many years, the brothers finally officially entered the business of oysters in 2010 when they planted their first seed. Two years later they saw their first sellable crop. Lucky for us, a server from our restaurant found them on Facebook. You just never know....

Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.