Lowcountry Cuisine Spring 2018

lowcountry cuisine LC 34 www.LowcountryCuisineMag.com | www.CharlestonRecipes.com Hill and one near Charlotte, North Carolina. He still buys from local shrimpers when he can, but, with such a lousy season, in order to provide shrimp for his customers, Herald has to drive down to St. Augustine, Florida, three times a week. “For some reason, the shrimp did not come into Charleston waters. It’s like they just swam right by,” he said, adding that North Carolina and Florida both had decent shrimp seasons. To promote his business, he is able to get the word out through Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor. He updates his social media accounts daily with photos of his tasty products, as well as prices and availability. He likes to post recipes to Instagram, especially for his favorite dish, shrimp scampi. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO COSTS “Tourists who come in don’t blink an eye at paying $13 a pound for shrimp,” Herald said. It’s the locals who often balk at the price. He often has to explain to customers why they’re paying $13 per pound, especially for those who remember when fresh shrimp sold for only $4 per pound. Like any businessman, Herald works in numbers. He knows it costs $3,000 to fill up the tank on a shrimp boat, fuel that lasts about a week-and-a-half. Each shrimp net costs close to $3,000; with most boats pulling four nets, that’s $12,000. Many older boats require constant maintenance, and add in the costs of permits and regulations that come from federal, state and local levels, and it is easy to see why many small-scale operations find it hard to stay afloat. Today, only eight or nine working commercial shrimp "Serving Charleston's Restaurants for 2 decades!" emsofsc.com | 843.556.2977 Electronic Merchant Systems of SC 1054 St. Andrews Blvd., Charleston, SC 29407 We’re Here to Improve Your Business WE CATER EVENTS BIG AND SMALL! Mellow Mushroom Mount Pleasant 3110 Hwy 17 N | 843-881-4743 www.mellowmushroom.com Voted Best Caterer Mount Pleasant ONLINE ORDERING AVAILABLE CATERING PICK-UP AND DELIVERY 7-DAYS PER WEEK Rent Our Outdoor Bar For Your Next Event!