Looking from Harbor Blvd. in  Ventura, to the beach, you’ll see The Jolly Oyster.  At a distance, it almost looks like the kind of shack you might see in the Caribbean.  Closer, you’ll realize it’s a very special place as far from the usual beachside fast food concession as a fresh fish fillet is from a frozen fish stick.

20 years ago Mark Reynolds saw the impending disaster of overfishing and decided to do something about it. He set up a sustainable shellfish farm in Baja California.  From Day One, his keywords were Healthy, Organic, Sustainable, Nature Friendly and Humane.  His determination has paid off and if there are better oysters and clams to be found anywhere in the world, we don’t where that might be.

Which is why The Jolly Oyster is where we source our shellfish.  It goes beyond provisioning, however, and the weekends, when we’re ashore, we’ll often spend a couple of delightful hours sampling The Jolly Oyster popup’s delicious menu, with its choice of ‘Prepared’ or ‘Shuck Your Own.’

If Mark himself is on site, so much the better.  Everyone who knows us knows that we ‘collect’ interesting and charismatic characters who are so much more than simply suppliers.  Mark is one of them and will happily tell you the history of The Jolly Oyster while you’re in a kind of shellfish heaven.

The Jolly Oyster is unique, to be treasured end enjoyed.