The Little Creek Market, the new headquarters of the Little Creek Oyster Farm, opened the doors of Long Island’s first U-shuck oyster bar in downtown Greenport on Friday. The store will offer locals and visitors to the village the chance to support local oyster farming and enjoy some shellfish outdoors.
The farm began growing oysters in Peconic Bay last year after raising nearly $15,000 through a Kickstarter campaign.
Owner Ian Wile plans to offer oysters to-go or to eat-in and shuck at the market’s outdoor picnic table. Live bait and other local artisinal items are also available.
If you don’t know how to open the sometimes stubborn oysters, don’t worry. Wile will teach you.
“Grab a basket of oysters, sit at the picnic table and shuck them here with your friends,” Wile said during a recent interview at the market. “And maybe while you’re here you will discover something new.”
The market will also sell hot sauces and Holy Shmitt’s Homemade Horseradish, which he believes will spark debates as to the best way to dress the shellfish.
“I hope people will sit out here and argue about it all day,” said Wile, who has lived in Greenport with his wife Rosalie and 12-year-old son Jackson since the family moved from Brooklyn.
The building, once the wheelhouse of a whaling ship, was cut off and brought ashore sometime in the 19th century. It has been a bait shop, with various owners, in the years since.
“This has been a bait shop in some form for more than 100 years,” he said. “I didn’t want to be the guy to screw that up.”
Wile also hopes to screen documentaries and to partner with local breweries and wineries to offer tastings.
The market is located at 37 Front St. in Greenport, down Bootleg Alley.
