Make a gift in honor of the good that comes from BDN journalism in your hands, and help raise $60,000 this spring to support our reporting. Make a donation now.
A new oyster bar is coming to Blue Hill and a retail shop is on track to open in Stonington this summer as local aquaculture operation Deer Isle Oyster Co. expands.
The Stoop oyster bar and The Dooryard shop are two new ventures for Abby Barrows, who purchased a 3.5-acre aquaculture lease in Deer Isle’s Long Cove in 2015 and recently more than doubled capacity with another 4.5-acre lease one cove over. She now also has a supply of farmed oysters year-round thanks to an old lobster pound used to store them through the winter season.
The two new locations, along with new farm tours, aim to connect people with local food and educate them about aquaculture, according to Barrows. They will also create new markets for her growing business and add new places to socialize in the two downtowns.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to be part of this amazing food scene and also promote and educate people around aquaculture” – such as the years of work and care that go into growing an oyster, she said.
Barrows is focused on smaller quantities of high-quality oysters rather than a rapid expansion, she said.
Individual oysters taste differently based on where they grow, shaped by factors like water salinity, currents, temperature and the type of bottom they grow on. Barrows sees that as a sense of place in each one.
Long Cove produces oysters with a taste she describes as special and complex: clean, snappy and fresh with a briny bite and lingering sweetness.
Flavor profiles also change subtly throughout the season, and showcasing different oysters side by side shows how different factors affect their taste.
“Here in downeast Maine, we’re growing some phenomenal-tasting oysters,” she said.
Barrows’ business has grown incrementally, and in recent years she’s put additional energy into research and development for ways to grow oysters without plastic gear to minimize pollution.
That has brought opportunities to bring people to the oyster farm, connect them with where their food comes from, understand more about oyster growing and share the importance of oysters as waters warm in the Gulf of Maine, she said. Aquaculture has been promoted as an economic opportunity to diversify working waterfronts from reliance on lobstering as the climate changes.
Barrows also sells oysters wholesale and has held pop-up events, where she enjoyed the full-circle experience of going from working on the farm to presenting the oysters to customers.
When the opportunity arose to rent a spot at 27 Water Street in Blue Hill, it seemed like a step forward that could pull together the various pieces of the business in one location, she said. Barrows aims to keep it open year-round.
The oyster bar will also carry oysters from other local growers, with a simple menu including items such as tinned fish, local cheese, pickles and drinks.
It’s a big change from a decade of selling oysters off her porch in Stonington, the town where Barrows is also planning to open a new shop. But she’s since moved from that house and wants to have a staffed store to provide access to hard-to-find seafood and help bring life to the downtown village, providing a destination people can walk to and learn about its working waterfront, she said.
Barrows hopes to open her Stonington store in a shed at 11 N. Main St., in the dooryard of a trap shop of the lobsterboat captain she once worked for, carrying oysters along with wine, merchandise and other value-added products. The town’s planning board is set to review the application later this month, and she hopes to open the following day if approved.
The names of both spots are inspired by providing places for people to come together, hang out and connect with local food, she said.
