Oyster Menu Regulars: Rappahannock Oyster Co.

March 11, 2025

When it comes to friendships and seafood, distance shouldn’t matter. If anything, when it comes to our friendship with Rappahannock Oyster Co., distance was an added benefit.

Dedication to quality seafood knows no bounds. Be it Australian Spiny Lobsters or just a hankering for good east-coast oysters, delicious seafood doesn’t end outside of our home base in Southern California. That’s why we turn to our partners who continuously produce the quality we expect and help us secure the best seafood from around the world.

Although our relationship with Rappahannock Oyster Co. started in the 2000s, their story begins in 1899.

Ryan and Travis Croxton, owners of Rappahannock Oyster Co.
Photo courtesy of Rappahannock Oyster Co.

How Rappahannock Oyster Co. Started

Photo courtesy of Rappahannock Oyster Co.

When purchasing a few acres of fertile Rappahannock Riverbed near Butylo, Va., J.A. Croxton surely couldn’t have known that he was creating a company that would last for over a century.

By 2001, after a century of over harvesting, the oyster population in Chesapeake Bay was less than 1% of the amount present when J.A. Croxton made his purchase, and Chesapeake Bay had just recorded its lowest ever oyster harvest.

As cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton took the helm of the company, threats of placing the Bay oyster on the Endangered Species List and a movement away from native oysters in favor of introducing a Chinese oyster in its place was underway.

photo courtesy of Rappahannock Oyster Co

A mission to resurrect the native Bay oyster quickly expanded into a crusade to pave the pathways of restoration of all Chesapeake Bay food ways. Because of the oytser's ability to filter 50 gallons of water per day and provide habitat for countless species, it was the perfect weapon to attack this growing problem. Using oysters as their paintbrush, Rappahannock Oyster Co. set out to paint a cover over the decades old graffiti of a wall that is the Chesapeake Bay, laying the base for the gorgeous mural of seafood that it has become.

After two decades since the Croxton cousins took over, Chesapeake Bay is now seeing numbers not witnessed in generations and now leads the entire East Coast in oyster production.

Rappahannock Oyster Co. Methodology

Rappahannock Oyster Co. oysters are grown directly next to wild oysters, however by growing them in cages rather than the ocean floor, they preserve the fragile river-bottom. In their growth cycle that lasts from 24-to-36 months, the oysters filter the river water, clearing it of excess nutrients and cleaning it to provide a habitat for the fish that call the river home.

The oysters are carefully monitored during its growth. Keeping an eye on salt and temperature levels help to guard the oyster against unsightly growth habits and fight disease, ensuring a healthy, attractive and succulent oyster.

Once grown, they are hand-selected and placed into an iced-down shipping container destined for King’s Seafood Distribution, where they are closely monitored, quality-checked and sent out to all Water Grill locations.

Rappahannock oysters in the cold bar at Water Grill

Rappahannock Oysters At Water Grill

Depending on season and availability, any of the three oysters grown and supplied by Rappahannock Oyster Co. can be found on our Water Grill menus. Check out today’s menus for availability.

Rappahannock Oysters At-A-Glance

Rappahannock River

Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)

Location: Topping, VA

Flavor: Sweet, buttery, full-bodied taste with a refreshingly clean, crisp finish.

Rochambeau

Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)

Location: Yorktown, VA

Flavor: Sweet and mildly briny with a clean crisp finish.  

Olde Salts

Species: Crassostrea virginica (native)

Location: Chincoteague, VA

Flavor: Bold seaside brininess with a smooth, clean follow-through.

The Ghost of the Coast Appears at Water Grill

April 29, 2024

Show of hands: who wants a cool nickname? No matter how hard you try, it won’t hold a candle to white seabass.

Known as “the ghost of the coast”, the nickname for white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) is a reference to the fish’s ability to stalk and haunt its prey while hiding in kelp beds. They’re voracious predators and exclusive to the West Coast. Starting this month, the California ghosts of the coast are making a seasonal appearance at Water Grill.

Local Legend

White seabass is a true local treasure, found from Central California through Baja California. However, it’s not actually a true bass. It’s a member – one of the largest, in fact – of the Croaker (Sciaenadae) family. And, while “croaker” may not be as cool of a nickname as “ghost of the coast”, it’s more descriptive, as this family of fish makes drumming noises by vibrating their air bladders.

Seasonal Catch

The commercial fishing season in California typically runs from June through March (and year-round in Mexico). White seabass is caught by gill-net and hook and line in many areas off the California coasts, including sandy and rocky bottoms, near- and offshore and, of course, in kelp beds.

They’rea Keeper

White seabass can range from 10-lbs. to 60-lbs.; however, most white seabass will be in the 20-lb. to 30-lb. range. You know it’s a keeper when it’s 28” long. Literally. That’s the length a white seabass must be to keep. It signals that the fish has had an opportunity to reproduce at least once before being pulled from the rotation. Spawning season typically occurs from March to early June.

Fisheries management is supported by NOAA Fisheries, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the White Seabass Fisheries Management Plan (USA) and CONAPESCA and INAPESCA in Mexico.

This is in addition to support from the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. They operate a white seabass hatchery in San Diego, which contributes fish to the wild stock from grow-out pens up and down the Southern California coast.

White Seabass at King's Seafood Distribution

Flavor

White seabass is known for its sweet flavor, firm texture and medium flakes. It’s a great fish for grilling, and its seasonal arrival is timed perfectly for enjoying in the summer months.

White Seabass Ratatouille at Water Grill

At Water Grill, we bring this all together in a preparation of rustic ratatouille, featuring Japanese eggplant, bell peppers, a garlic emulsion and basil oil. See our menus here.

GIFT CARDS
STORIES