Centre County native Rick Gedon will launch the business next week after researching supply and demand for fresh shellfish and frozen fish in central Pennsylvania. With the help of Penn State University’s Small Business Development Center, the entrepreneur says hes filling a niche for for fresh off the boat supplies thats been empty since the closure of O.W. Houts in 2006.
Gedon places his orders online. Theyre harvested and arrive in Pennsylvania roughly 24 hours later. The company will make scheduled deliveries three times a week to restaurants including Nittanny Inn in Centre Hall. Gedon will also fill individual consumer orders for lobster, scallops, oysters, you name it, he says. Retail orders will be delivered on Fridays at the Nittany Mall.
Skeptics may question the timing of launching a seafood business in the midst of a major ocean oil spill. In fact, Gedon says, BPs Gulf of Mexico disaster will not affect his Delaware distributor Harbor House C-Food, which sources its catches from seven boats off the coasts of Maine, Florida and California. He credits Penn States program for providing the tools and a years worth of mentoring to make his company a reality.
Source: Rick Gedon, Taste From the Sea
Writer: Chris OToole
