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OUR STORY

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Passion and innovation have fueled our growth

PASSION

Life partners and entrepreneurs, Nancy Follini and Joe Gilbert founded Briarpatch Shellfish Company in 1982. They believed that if they successfully built a business, it would afford them the opportunity to help people and their surrounding community while having a fun and rewarding experience themselves.

Starting out with an investment in one boat and a bag of clam seed, 40 years later Nancy and Joe are proud to see their original vision and dream come true. Over the decades, the core values that were set in 1982 still energize the company today throughout their fleet of 10 boats and numerous employees. Those core values set by Nancy and Joe hold true today:

  • Put people before profit

  • Value long term business relationships

  • Strive to provide the best customer service

  • Maintain the cleanest facilities and environment

  • Remain committed to sustainability

All throughout its history and into the future, Briarpatch has stayed on the leading edge by having the best trained and educated workforce in the industry.

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innovation

Whether it be harvesting processes, best management practices, facilities design or technology innovation, Briarpatch Shellfish Company has always been ahead of the curve.

 

Today, Briarpatch maintains the young spirited confidence to deliver the best shellfish products around because they know the hard work and relentless commitment the team puts in on a daily basis. You can find the Briarpatch team out on the Long Island Sound year-round, bringing in a fresh crop of clams and oysters that are packed and shipped within 24 hours.

 

The unique Briarpatch cleaning process is one of the key components to their product’s consistent excellence. Every batch of shellfish is cleaned multiple times at perfectly planned milestones in the life of the harvest. In addition, their one-of-a-kind harvest boat, Audacious, is outfitted with custom refrigeration that ensures Briarpatch oysters are chilled from harvest through delivery.

As the business environment and the shellfish market have changed, Briarpatch Shellfish Company has continually evolved with it. With investments in proprietary farming, nursery practices and hatchery development, Briarpatch is setting itself up for future growth that will bring the freshest and most sustainable shellfish to consumers from coast to coast.

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