Mark Marhefka starts working the satellite phone while he’s still miles out to sea, heading homeward after three days out on the Amy Marie. He’s carrying a load of grouper, black sea bass, triggerfish, and even a wreckfish or two, carefully iced belly-down within 20 minutes of being caught. Calls go out to local chefs from East Bay Street to Coleman Boulevard, letting them know what’s on its way to the Shem Creek docks and when it will arrive. Later in the day, chefs start calling back to Marhefka’s cell phone to place their orders, jockeying and cajoling for a few extra pounds of the good stuff.
And that good stuff is revolutionizing dining in Charleston.
Marhefka started selling directly to restaurants in 2007, and some of his first customers were Ben Berryhill at the Red Drum Gastropub, Nico Romo at Fish, and Jeremiah Bacon at Carolina’s. At the time, few chefs thought it worth the trouble to drive down to Shem Creek, especially for fish that they were unfamiliar with and didn’t have a standard preparation for. Marhefka delivers directly to restaurants now, and more and more chefs are seeing the light. Kimberly Morales at Raul’s Seafood and Dan Long at Crosby’s are popular suppliers, too, reliably delivering fresh, top-quality fish to their restaurant customers.
Grouper and red snapper have long been local favorites. In recent years less familiar names like triggerfish, wreckfish, and amberjack have started showing up with more regularity, especially at restaurants with a commitment to fresh, local food.