Thomas and Callie Hyde of Steamboat Warf Oyster Co. are growing damn fine oysters in White Stone, Virginia
A small tract of land sits off of Little Oyster Lane in White Stone, Virginia, and juts out into the Rappahannock River—the home base of Steamboat Wharf Oyster Company. The property houses a workshop with a walk-in cooler, a small fishing cabin, and a dock that hums with the activity of a busy oystering crew. Steamboat’s co-founders, Thomas and Callie Hyde, both grew up with water in their blood—Thomas spent his high school years raking up oysters with his father off a wild reef in Morratica, Virginia (his father had a lease), while Callie grew up in Virginia Beach. Today, they’re first-generation water-people, who own and operate an oyster business that produces some of the most pearlescent and briny bivalves coming out of the Chesapeake.
It was during Covid when the two landed back in Thomas’ hometown and bought their first oyster seed, almost as an experiment, taking over his father’s lease. “We had no idea what we were doing, really. We thought, ‘maybe we’ll make some passive income with it eventually,’” he says. They secured some cages from other oyster farmers who were selling their equipment and retiring due to Covid—several nearby farms went out of business because the restaurants were closed. “We put the seed in and they grew like gangbusters,” Thomas says. “We were struggling to keep up with it but we ended up buying more gear and then more. It quickly became a business.”
After trying bottom cages, the couple landed on a FlipFarm system—the cages are attached to anchored lines and float just under the water’s surface; they’re efficient and easy to manage, even for a small crew of just two humans. As the company and their family has grown (they welcomed their first daughter last summer), they’ve enlisted help, many of whom are young women—the FlipFarm can be managed by anyone on the team.
Because of the location of Steamboat’s lease, the oysters rock back and forth in the river’s wake, making their shells super-sturdy and nearly as smooth as stone. The luminescent pearly whiteness makes them stand out among other area oysters—and the team ensures that they’re all brought to market at the same size and consistency. “That’s what chefs at raw bars really want, something uniform,” Thomas says, wisdom he developed while working as a shucker at a restaurant in Charlottesville. “The action of the shell getting pruned constantly makes it harder, makes the oysters have a deeper cup.”
Part of their work is contributing to the wild population, too, Thomas says. There are still a number of commercial wild leases being harvested nearby and some of the oysters that the Hydes put into the water spawn and contribute to those wild reefs. “Oysters were on the verge of dying out here in the bay until we came up with methods of farming that have relieved the stress on the wild population and have allowed it to rebound while still filling that market gap,” he says.
The couple have plans to grow in a way that’s sustainable. Their farm has space for more cages and they see opportunities to add more jobs—Callie wants to see an entire farm run by women. And for Thomas, it’s about living a life of purpose. “I wanted to have a job that felt like I was making a difference and having a positive impact on nature and my community.”
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Erin Byers Murray
Erin Byers Murray has been digging into stories about food and wine for more than twenty years. Based in Nashville, she is the editor-in-chief of The Local Palate and has authored or co-authored half a dozen books, including deep dives into oysters and grits, as well as several cookbooks. Her work has been published in multiple publications, including Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, the Boston Globe, and three editions of Best Food Writing.
