As I read a newspaper article about the store closing it makes me want to try it. Then, several weeks later we pass by and see it open. We return and try it ourselves. Seems that you should go earlier in the day to be certain you can get the items you want (no gumbo or jambalaya for me). The shrimp and crab are always available. If they are open, stop in and eat (it is all in a takeout format), otherwise try back another day.
-----
Wild Shrimp Company
2005 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, (727) 209-0813
Cuisine: Seafood takeout
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday
Prices: $1.35-$7.95
-----
Restaurant closes; fans couldn't buoy Wild Shrimp Co.
By Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, June 28, 2009
--
ST. PETERSBURG — They're mourning a shrimp shop on Central Avenue.
It was a hole-in-the-wall with quirky decor and scant seating, but the Wild Shrimp Co. built a following with cheap prices and an innovative menu.
But this year, not enough people came. On June 20, another eatery on another major thoroughfare in St. Petersburg closed its doors.
"We were doing okay until Easter, and then just fell flat," said James Walton, a part owner.
In recent months, Walton said, he tried to tinker with the menu to lower prices and offer better value. He offered chicken and gravy and barbecue po' boys, put alligator meat on the menu along with his deep-fried seafood treats. Lunch could be had for $5, a shrimp dinner for $7.25.
When Walton opened on April 9, 2008, in a former sandwich shop at 2005 Central, it took him six months to put a sign on the facade, which he regrets. When the following finally came, Wild Shrimp did great. It offered discounts to city and hospital workers to build loyalty.
That fall, the Tampa Bay Rays' success drew customers from near and far.
The restaurant's source of fresh fish was Bama Sea Products, a few blocks away at 756 28th St. S. And it enjoyed synergy with the long-established Haslam's Book Store next door. The glowing newspaper reviews came from near and far this year.
Still, the business was not close enough to Tropicana Field. Foot traffic was not enough.
"Even in any economic conditions, people are going to eat, so I would expect that those places that offer good quality food at an exceptional value would have the opportunity to succeed," said Joe Nohren, marketing director at Bama Sea Products.
He added of Walton, "It's disappointing because the business was a labor of love for him."
Nohren said the wholesale market for seafood products remains strong.
Walton said he is trying to sell the business' lease, which has 31/2 years remaining, to someone else.
"It will be missed," said Ray Hinst, co-owner of Haslam's. "We all ate there, and we were very comfortable in recommending it to our customers and old friends. We never had anybody come back to complain."
Luis Perez can be reached at lperez@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2271.
[Last modified: Jun 27, 2009 04:30 AM]
(
visit link)
-----
Wild Shrimp Company: Prices cheap, food delish
Laura Reiley, Times Food Critic
In Print: Thursday, July 24, 2008
By Laura Reiley
Times Food Critic
ST. PETERSBURG
They had me at fried olives.
Stuffed with demure little pimientos, these Vigo queens get a basic crumb batter (think breaded zucchini or mozzarella sticks) and a zap into the deep fryer, then they're heaped into a Styrofoam box with a plastic tub of zingy remoulade. Salty, blisteringly hot, they defy you to stop eating them. For $2.95.
The new Wild Shrimp Company, a little shack/store fronting the Haslam's bookstore parking lot, has an immense funk factor. Decor includes a stuffed monkey, a cap gun out of ammo and menus festooned with pictures of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi (except the idea here is, "no gumbo for you"). Its location is no accident, situated a little more than half a mile from Bama Sea Products, its chief purveyor and muse.
Owners James Walton and Todd Felix have built their concept around the small, sweet wild gulf shrimp Bama sells. They come, like the olives, crumb-battered and deep-fried, paired with horseradish-powered cocktail sauce, a sweet, cakey corn muffin and a Styrofoam container of red beans and rice heavy on the smoky sausage. All that stuff I just listed? $5.95.
Or, assuming the Gumbo Nazi lets you, you can have the shrimp studding a bowl of gumbo ($4.95) or among the mayhem of chicken, sausage, etc. that crowd the rice in house jambalaya ($4.25). (Similar, really, these two offerings are nicely flavored, the gumbo like a roux-thickened soup, the jambalaya more rice intensive.)
It's an order-at-the-window place, everything packed to go (although things can be promptly unpacked onto one of the two umbrellaed outdoor tables). The rest of the menu is rounded out with conch fritters (a little chewy, $5.25) and a few traditional, Big Easy-style po' boys ($5.50), stuffed with those tasty fried shrimp, chicken or fried mahi. Hey, wonder if they've thought of a fried olive po' boy?
Laura Reiley can be reached at lreiley@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2293. Her blog, the Mouth of Tampa Bay, can be found at www.blogs.tampabay.com/dining. Reiley dines anonymously and unannounced. The Times pays all expenses. Advertising has nothing to do with selection for review or the assessment.
(
visit link)