Some
state lawmakers got a first-hand look Tuesday at how a local member
of the Connecticut shellfish industry found a way to overcome a pandemic slump.
State
Sens. Bob Duff, Will Haskell, Matt Lesser and Christine Cohen met with Norm Bloom, the owner
of Norm
Bloom & Son Copps Island Oysters – a fourth-generation, family-owned
oyster farming business that's been in Norwalk since the 1940s. Its longevity
faced a serious threat when the pandemic hit and the oyster market dried up.
“What
we realized when it hit was we didn't fall in the group with the take-out
food,” said Bloom. “We need the bars open, we need groups together…people want
somebody to shuck it there for them.”
Bloom
says sales before were almost entirely with wholesalers. So he figured out new
ways to reach people and make up for lost revenue, including sales directly to
the public.
“We
also started working with Whole Foods. We package oysters in small bags and we
sell to them,” he said.
Bloom
employs between 50 to 60 people and says business is now back to where it was
pre-pandemic.
“I'm
just really glad that they've been able to kind of reinvent themselves,” said
state Sen. Bob Duff.
State
Sen. Haskell said that his resolve is “even stronger to help protect the Long
Island Sound and make sure generations to come continue to enjoy the amazing
seafood and shellfish that this body of water has to offer.”