White Carrying On Family Tradition At The Shrimp Boat

White Carrying On Family Tradition At The Shrimp Boat
The Shrimp Boat owner Joe White looks for another season of serving locals and visitors at his family business in West Ocean City. Photo by Bethany Hooper

WEST OCEAN CITY – Fresh seafood. Free shrimp samples. Family owned and operated.

That’s what owner Joe White says customers can find at the Shrimp Boat.

Located on Route 611 in West Ocean City, the Shrimp Boat got its start in West Ocean City in 1989, when founder Joe Crocetti – White’s uncle – opened his roadside stand. Featuring a box truck, a couple of chairs, and a scale, Crocetti spent that first summer selling fresh seafood along the highway.

“It started as a dare,” White said. “Someone dared him that he could not sell fresh, head-on shrimp in Ocean City. Almost to prove them wrong, and have something to do for the summer, he did it. And he really enjoyed it. He was really successful, so he came back and started doing it again.”

In 1990, Crocetti returned to the Route 611 location and began operating his business out of a wooden boat. The market started out by selling fresh shrimp and, eventually, live clams and fresh picked crab meat.

“The first boat was a wooden boat with a really poor floor in it,” White recalled. “When I was a kid, I could stand up straight in it but most adults couldn’t.”

White said he joined the family business in 1993 and spent the following years working his way through high school and college, all while learning the tricks of the trade. While his first summer was spent taking out the trash, cleaning coolers and other small tasks, White said he soon took on more responsibilities.

“I had begged him for two summers to let me come down here and work,” he said. “He turned me down a million times, and he only had to say yes once.”

The Shrimp Boat grew over the years to include more fresh seafood options. And in 2009, the business opened its first kitchen.

“The rules in the county were changing for how fresh seafood stands were working, so he (Crocetti) saw it as an opportunity and thought he’d cook shrimp and crabs for people who don’t have a pot,” White said. “We still teach people to this day how to cook it.”

But by the following year, the Shrimp Boat outgrew its kitchen, and a larger kitchen was added on. A full menu – featuring sandwiches, crabcakes and other cooked items – seating and beer soon followed.

“The neat thing about coming here today is when you walk up, the fresh market is still there but our selection is wider,” White said. “We have wild-caught salmon, fresh flounder, yellowfin tuna, Prince Edward Island mussels. But all of the food you see in that display is the food we use in the restaurant. There are no two sets of anything here. If you come into the restaurant and eat the mussels, and you love them, you can walk up to the stand, get the same mussels, and we can show you how to cook them at home.”

Today, customers can continue to purchase fresh seafood from the market – which now operates from the business’ third-generation boat – or they can dine in. Popular menu items include soft crab nuggets and crab balls, to name a few.

“A lot of the sharable items are popular …,” White said. “But the number one seller is the shrimp. That has not changed.”

White said the Shrimp Boat also offers free shrimp samples, catering and specials. For example, customers can take advantage of the $1.99 crab special, which runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

“People only have to be here by 3 p.m.,” he explained. “You can stay as long as you want and continue to order. We do those specials, even on Labor Day Monday, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July, if it falls during the week. We don’t mess with our prices because of the holidays. We don’t have a tourist season price list and a regular season price list. And we will never have a credit card service fee here, ever.”

White took over day-to-day operations at the Shrimp Boat 11 years ago, when his uncle left the business. And today, a third generation of family members has joined White in bringing fresh seafood to the West Ocean City community.

“The landscape has definitely changed, but the vibe hasn’t,” he said. “I hear from folks time and time again that we’re carrying the torch and keeping a little bit of the old-school Ocean City alive.”

White said he also continues to work with local watermen. He said fresh seafood sold at the market comes fresh off the dock and is selected by White himself.

“We’re now working with third- and fourth-generation customers, watermen and workers …,” he said. “So this is important. We’ve got to do a good job.”

The Shrimp Boat is currently open six days a week, but hours will be expanded to seven days a week beginning in mid-May. For more information on hours of operation, menu items and specials, visit the Shrimp Boat Facebook page.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.