For North Fork Sea Salt Co. creator Scott Bollman, a day on the job is a combination of two things he loves: cooking and being outside.
Bollman, who is a partner at Bruce & Son Cheese Emporium in Greenport, launched North Fork Sea Salt Co. in 2013 with his wife, Kassata. After Bollman moved from Albany to the North Fork, the couple came up with a business venture they could tackle together. Bollman said he watched an internet video of an old fisherman making sea salt; the rest, as they say, is history.
North Fork Sea Salt Co. has grown steadily each year since, with Bollman now selling his product wholesale to more than 60 accounts. While the company doesn’t have a storefront, the salt can be found at several area restaurants, including Touch of Venice in Cutchogue. Bollman also sells his salt to a number of eateries outside the North Fork.
Bollman said it’s crucial to make salt using local water and ingredients, and he believes doing so is the reason his business is successful.
“It’s important that everything that goes into it is within our radius,” he said. “If it’s not on the farm stand, you won’t see it as a flavor.”
Bollman has incorporated dehydrated tomatoes from local farm stands into his salts. He typically makes about three different flavors at a time but can also concoct specialty salts if requested. His company currently offers an organic salt made with herbs from Sang Lee Farms in Peconic and one made using bee pollen from Browder’s Birds in Mattituck.
Recently, Bollman was featured in a video series produced by The Nature Conservancy about the importance of clean water. Carl Lobue, a marine scientist at the environmental organization, said they wanted everyday people to talk about why keeping our water clean is important. He came across Mr. Bollman and his company and called to see if he would be interested in the project. Since Bollman grew up on the North Fork and centers his business around the water, he was more than happy to help.
“The most important thing is taking care of the water so it [North Fork Sea Salt Co.] can carry on,” he said.
While Bollman doesn’t have any children yet, he hopes to one day give them the same experience he had growing up on the North Fork — and eventually pass on the business to them.
Bollman said local companies thrive off the water, not only because local brewers and farmers need it for production but because it attracts tourists.
The entire community, he said, is largely to thank for his success.
“If it wasn’t for them, there would be no me,” he said.
