by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
Steamboat Wharf Oyster Company’s mission is simple—“save the bay and grow a damn good oyster.”
Well, it’s been proven that oyster farming helps alleviate stress on the wild oyster population so Thomas and Callie Robinson Hyde are doing their part to save the bay. As for the latter half of the mission statement, the young oyster farmers seemed to have also nailed that objective.
“The quality is insane,” said Callie, showing off a handful of smooth, white, almost clam-like oysters grown on the oyster farm off of Mosquito Island where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Rappahannock River.
Callie, who grew up in Virginia Beach, met Thomas while the two were attending the University of Virginia. He was from the Northern Neck and had no trouble coaxing Callie to escape city life for a quieter one. The two were working in the hospitality industry in Charlottesville when COVID-19 hit and, in the spring of 2020, they planted their first oyster seeds at….
