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Salem wholesale seafood distributorship company is selling backyard clambakes to go
By Steve Krause | May 2, 2020
SALEM — The list of the things we’re not allowed to do as we enter the third month of the coronavirus quarantine is as restrictive as it was when the crisis began in March.
We all know what those restrictions are. But here’s something you can do if you’re looking for something different from the usual quarantine routine. You can have a clambake.
You read that correctly. Patriot Seafoods, a wholesale distributor in Salem that caters mainly to restaurants, has retooled its business plan on the fly and, through the pandemic crisis, is offering aficionados a complete clambake to go.
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and this is one of those times, says co-owner Chris Porter, who runs the warehouse with his sister, Sandie.
“We had to adapt and flip from a wholesale distributorship, providing to boats and restaurants,” he said. “When the restaurants shut down, it was frightening for everyone. Ninety percent of my customers were closed.”
Patriot has been in operation for 28 years.
“And practically overnight, this happened,” he said. “We have some really good staff, and to tell them there was no work was very difficult. And you can’t deliver fish from your house from a computer.”
Slowly, from that nadir in March, Porter and Patriot climbed back. Some restaurants stayed open, providing takeout service, so the Porters were able to move some inventory.
From there, business started picking up.
“There was no way we weren’t going down without a fight,” Porter said. “So we tried to help out communities the best way we could.”
And one way to do that was to start providing the fish to people and not just wholesale to restaurants.
“People were looking for products. They didn’t necessarily want to go to the store, but they wanted fresh fish. That seemed to resonate with people. They appreciated they didn’t have to go to the store to buy it.”
Twenty years ago, the Porters used to do clambakes.
“But it never really took off,” he said. “But this year, we came up with the idea of it being Patriots Day, and we’re Patriot Seafoods. At that point, the fishing boats, which hadn’t been going out, started to go out fishing.
“Some of the local restaurants that usually buy lobsters aren’t open now, so we figured we’d offer a Patriots Day special, and that we’d sell clambakes. We sold a couple, and people loved it.”
Porter realized that more than a month into the social distancing restrictions, and with a severe economic crunch exacerbating it, people didn’t have a lot of money to spend.
“They don’t have the extra money for big-ticket items,” he said, “so we priced it out to be as economical as possible, and all of a sudden people loved them. They loved the idea of having something to do with their family members they’re already quarantining with.
“For the value,” Porter said, “it’s almost the same as going through a fast-food drive-through. They can get wild, local lobsters and other things. I’m blown away with how many people love it.”
He acknowledges desperation prompted him to think outside the box to come up with this idea.
“When you have your back to the wall, you have to keep thinking of new things,” he said. “It’s still tough, trying to work in an environment where you have to keep the staff and the customers safe. We’re always cleaning. Always sanitizing. It’s all good. But we’re blessed to be able to come to work, to get out of the house, and contribute to society.”
Not only has the idea been good for business, Porter said, “but it is very fulfilling to be able to help people. It’s a time of not knowing what the future brings. You can’t go to a movie and can’t go on vacation. But you can have this kind of an escape, where you can go in your backyard and have a clambake. How much fun is that?”