J&G Shellfish: Discover this 100-year Discovery Bay Secret
What makes Discovery Bay the finest place to grow shellfish in the Pacific Northwest? It’s clear, it’s cold, it’s clean, and it’s one of those last few places that’s still a little wild. A place here 100-year-old traditions still survive, and where the fifth generation of one family still makes their living harvesting the fresh local seafood—the legendary native Littleneck clams that launched the business—as well as Pacific oysters and Manila clams. The bay runs so deep and the water is so cold and nutrient-rich, the shellfish here grow extremely fast, and beautifully healthy.
“It just creates a dang good oyster,” says Reed Jr., co-owner of Johnson & Gunstone Shellfish. Along with his dad, his wife Kyla, his brother Andrew and sister-in-law Adriana, and a couple of friends, they keep the family tradition alive—hand-digging clams, hand-picking oysters, and serving many of the same customers their great-grandfather supplied.
Once harvested, the oysters and clams are submerged in saltwater almost constantly from the ocean to the tanks in our markets, so the shellfish you bring home is so fresh, you don’t even need to add water while cooking – they’ll steam all by themselves.
Keeping these waters alive
Like their entrepreneurial forebears, including their grandfather who custom-designed his own best-in-class clam shovel still in use today, the current generation at Johnston and Gunstone is creative and forward-thinking.
They’re focused growing healthy and sustainable clams and oysters now and into the future, using holistic farming practices like crop rotation, re-seeding strategies, and other low impact hand-harvesting techniques. J&G also plays a key role in advocating for the stringent water quality policies in the area. Because it’s the water that makes the shellfish so good. And that’s something worth fighting to preserve—for your ongoing dining pleasure as well as for the ongoing health of our environment.
It’s a fresh experience
Our experienced Seafood Market experts believe these are some of the best clams and oysters they’ve ever tasted. Mike Fodness, our Director of Meat and Seafood says, “There are bigger operations sourcing oysters, but these are as fresh as you can get."
We’re super excited to partner with such a friendly, hard-working Washington family (who are lifelong T&C shoppers themselves!) and to bring their superb shellfish to you.