Real Local RVA’s September Meeting

With a deep family history in the oyster business dating back to the 1890’s, cousins Travis and Ryan Croxton’s story is nothing short of amazing. When Travis and Ryan (the company’s fourth generation) got a phone call in 2001 from their dads asking if they had any interest in the family’s 200-odd acres of oyster leases, the industry had all but collapsed. There was talk of moratoriums – even threats to place the Bay oyster on the Endangered Species List.  The family’s contract with the state was expiring and their fathers simply saw it as the last bit of business to tie up. The cousins, however, saw it as the last tangible scrap of a rich family history. Oyster leases were cheap and not hard to come by, but this was all they had left. Though firmly entrenched in careers of their own, the temptation was too hard to resist. They began to learn about the oyster’s critical role as a filter for excess nutrients in the cycle of the Chesapeake Bay, and how the oyster’s health was inextricably tied with the health of the Bay.

They now own 6 restaurants and have grown to be one of the most well respected oyster companies in the business.  Join us to hear more of this story, and what the future looks like for them.  Travis and Ryan will be interviewed by Karri Peifer, features and dining editor of the Richmond Times Dispatch.