Is Phillips Restaurant and Seafood a locally owned and operated business?

Residents around OC as well as visitors to the beach are probably familiar with Phillips Restaurant and Seafood. The company has a long history here on the Shore.  Augustus E. Phillips opened a packing plant on Hooper's Island in Dorchester County in 1916. Forty years later, son Brice and his wife, Shirley, moved to OC and opened a crab shack to sell excess crabs from the Hooper's Island processing plant. The restaurant has since grown into a worldwide company with processing plants in Latin America and Southeast Asia to ensure a year-round supply of seafood to its restaurants concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic area, including the original restaurant we're all familiar with in OC.

A visit to Phillips' website shows the corporate headquarters for the restaurants is located in Baltimore. On their website, their "about us" section leaves the impression that they are still a "Mom and Pop" type store here on the Shore.

The restaurant in OC is not "true blue" certified. (True blue certified means that a restaurant serves crab products that are at least 75% Maryland blue crab.) Their commercial on TV, today, claims they serve "Maryland crabs", but we can see from their worldwide operations that the crabs they get most likely are coming from Southeast Asia.

By Shop Local Delmarva's definition of "locally owned and operated", Phillips Restaurant and Seafood, despite being founded as a locally owned and operated business, would not be considered a local business any more. The reason is the headquarters are in Baltimore, the owners' primary residence cannot be determined (at least 50% of the owners must live in the county where the business is located), and after extensive research, it appears Phillips Foods, Inc (the parent company of the restaurant in OC) all but abandoned support of the local communities (OC and Hooper's Island) where the company's roots are.

I really value the opinions of the fans of this page and Shop Local Delmarva. What do you think - locally owned or not?  A collection of articles about the company as published in The Baltimore Sun may help you decide. Wikipedia has a brief history of the company as well. And of course, you can always visit their website.

Are Maryland blue crabs really from Maryland?

Are Maryland Blue Crabs really from Maryland? Probably not, even when in season. The demand is far greater than what the Bay can produce. As a result, up to 95%, depending on the productivity of the Bay in any given year, of "fresh steamed, Maryland Blue Crabs" you get at a restaurant are shipped to local seafood houses from North Carolina and the Gulf states like Louisiana and Alabama. The seafood houses, in turn, sells them (along with the harvest our watermen do get) as Maryland Blue Crabs.

In fact, when the NC harvest of blue crabs is good (NC has lax restrictions compared to MD), our local watermen suffer. Last year, for example, our local watermen fetched $65/bushel. NC had a bumper harvest and the price per bushel was driven down, even though the average consumer still shelled out around $200/bushel.

This year, the NC crab harvest isn't so good so our watermen are getting $100/bushel. The average consumer can still expect to pay around $200/bushel.

If you're wondering why the retail price per bushel is about the same as last year, but the watermen are getting 17.5% more per bushel, it's because the seafood houses (many are locally owned) need to meet the consumer demand, but they can't "import" the cheaper NC crabs and pass them off as "Maryland blue crabs", so they have to pay our local watermen higher prices for what they catch.

Yes, it's our seafood industry's dirty little secret. As long as the crab passes through our seafood houses, it's a Maryland blue crab even if the crab was caught in NC.

Can you tell I am researching where our crabs really come from? I am surprised to learn two things:

1. There are no laws dictating that to be called "Maryland blue crab", the crab needs to have been harvested from the Chesapeake and it's tributaries.

2. Our own, locally owned and operated seafood houses willingly buy the cheaper NC or Gulf states' blue crabs, pass them off as "Maryland blue crabs" and our local watermen are forced to accept the lower prices per bushel. Especially during lean years, that lower prices can mean the difference between eking out a living wage for the day or spending more money to take the boat out than what they can earn in their catch.

When it comes to our "Maryland crab cakes", the fraud is even more severe. You may be buying a "Maryland crab cake" at your favorite locally owned and operated restaurant thinking you are supporting our local watermen, but there's a good chance you're supporting an Indonesian or Venezuelan waterman.

I don't know what happened to the "True Blue" labeling effort, but, as consumers, we should start asking our restaurants to sign up for it.

The next stage?

Possible good news in the next stage of development for Shop Local Delmarva.

The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation founded a program a few years back by retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant Joe Giordano called Project Opportunity. The program selects eligible veterans from the nine counties of the Eastern Shore for a 10-week, crash course in researching, developing, and eventually creating their own business. The program has been so successful at helping veterans launch their own business, it has expanded to include southern Maryland on the Western Shore up through Annapolis. At orientation tonight, the expansion has gone even further to include Columbia and Glen Burnie.

Shop Local Delmarva, namely, I, have an upcoming, hour-long telephone interview to further determine Shop Local Delmarva's acceptance into the program. The two-and-a-half hour long introduction course tonight went well, but the upcoming phone interview will be a milestone. If accepted into the program, I will be able to formulate a business plan and, after ten weeks, possibly pitch the plan to potential partners or investors to take Shop Local Delmarva to the next stage of development.

A key reminder to current members of Shop Local Delmarva and to locally owned and operated businesses considering listing with Shop Local Delmarva: your basic listing is and always will be free. That is one key point that any business plan developed between now and November will include.

Sadly ironic....

Sadly ironic, but, yes, the story drives home the importance of shopping locally. After 22 years, Zia's closed, the owners citing competition with the big chains forced the decisions. Cracker Barrel, a national chain restaurant, plans on opening at Zia's old location. This is what happens when local people choose not to support their locally owned and operated businesses. The uniquely local businesses close their doors, and Your Town, Your Community becomes Any Town, USA. 

 

 

Saturday, Aug 10 is Shop Local Delmarva Day

Ever wonder who's behind Shop Local Delmarva? Saturday, August 10th, the guy who always talks to you through cyberspace will be at Raffies Warehouse Clearance Sale for Shop Local Delmarva Day. On top of taking advantage of great deals, like $10 wool area rugs or $20 framed pictures and a hodgepodge of other estate items, you can meet the founder of Shop Local Delmarva. I know I'm curious as to who he is (just kidding, I know who I am). Come on out and ask him any questions you may have like how Shop Local Delmarva can help your business or what the future of Shop Local Delmarva is. Hope to see you there! 

How visitors are using Shop Local Delmarva

Since December, Shop Local Delmarva has consistently averaged around 625 visitors per month. Last month and this month, the average has dropped a bit.

Top keywords used to find Shop Local Delmarva are "shop Delmarva" or some variation of those words like "local shopping on Delmarva" followed by a search for specific businesses, namely Taylor's Organics, Delmarva Popcorn, and ATL Bistro and Bar.

The top pages visited were the Classified Ad section followed by JEM Lumber (I suspect because of their special they ran last month) followed by Shop Local Delmarva's articles followed by the Shop Local Delmarva Virtual Mall.

Two possible reasons for the slight drop in monthly visitors: it's summer and people tend to be on the computer less and possibly, first time visitors aren't finding the directory "useful" as there are only a handful of businesses listed.

If you own a business that fits the description of "locally owned and operated", please get listed. Your basic listing is and always will be free. While the site is growing, you can list in the classified ad section for free and if you serve all of Delmarva (including selling online), you can have a store front in the Virtual Mall for free.

The bigger the directory, the more visitors will use Shop Local Delmarva and the more likely new customers will find you. 

How did you support your local busineses today?

Just out of curiosity, what did you do to support your locally owned and operated businesses yesterday?

I didn't do any shopping, but I did go to an auction. I don't know if the auctioneers were local people nor do I know how local all the items being sold were, but I do know the food stand was locally owned. I ate lunch there. Of course, I planned on eating lunch at the locally owned restaurant in town, but I chose to support the stand at the auction, instead. By the time I finished making a video around Cambridge that I wanted to make, I was hungry, again, so I ended up supporting the locally owned restaurant in town, anyway. Oh, then on the way home, I bought my beer at the locally owned liquor store.

Well, dang it, I did a pretty good job at supporting my locally owned and operated businesses today, after all, and I didn't even try!

How local is local?

The question reminds me of a similar question I faced as a gardening enthusiast.  I concentrated on growing native plants, but the question arose: how native is native?  On one end, some gardeners would argue only plants that our first settlers would've found growing in what is now the garden is native.  On the other end, as long as the plant could be found in the state, it is native.  Most gardeners fell somewhere in between, usually narrowing the definition to a smaller geographical area such as the county or a hundred-mile radius where the garden was located.  Purists, however, argued there was no such thing as a native plant since most of our native plants have the genes of non-native or hybridized cousins. 

The same range of thought exists with what one defines as a locally owned and operated business.  Some argue that only businesses within or very near one's town is a local business.  Others argue that businesses founded in the state are a local business.  Most people fall somewhere in between.  Purists, however, argue there is no such thing as a locally owned and operated business as most businesses require the services or products from outside of the region in order for the owners to conduct their business.

The answer to what defines a locally owned and operated business if further complicated by other factors.  Some would argue that a locally owned franchise is a locally owned and operated business.  Others would argue that a business, whose owner has moved out of state but still maintains the business locally, is a locally owned and operated business.

Now here is a trick question.  Is Target a locally owned and operated business?  Most people would argue that no, it is a national chain, the kind of store shop local enthusiasts avoid.  People in Minneapolis, MN, however, might argue that, for them, Target is a locally owned and operated business as the original Target began there in 1902 as the Dayton Dry Goods Company.  Just because the store changed its name to Target doesn't make it any less local.  Others would argue that despite its history, Target is now a publicly owned company with no shareholder holding more than 9% interest in the company, and the shareholders are spread out all across the country so it can no longer be considered a locally owned and operated company.

Now, here is another trick question.  Is Walmart a locally owned and operated business?  Like people in Minnesota who might argue Target is a locally owned and operated business, people in Benton, AR might argue that Walmart is a locally owned and operated business.  Unlike the people in Minnesota, though, the people in Arkansas could arguably be more correct in their claim.  The Walton family, founders of Walmart, hold a 48% stake in shares of the company, making them the majority owners.

There are probably as many definitions to "locally owned and operated" as there are people who try to answer the question, how local is local.  Shop Local Delmarva considered all the ranges of thought on the subject, but discovered the definition came down to two key questions: what sort of business keeps most of its money circulating within the local community and what is the "local community"?

With those two questions in mind, Shop Local Delmarva first defined "local community" as all of Delmarva.  The reasoning was based on the fact that most of Delmarva is rural in nature and one couldn't expect to find everything he/she would need in his/her local town.  One may need to travel thirty miles or more to the next nearest town, but he/she could still support the local businesses there instead of relying on the national chains.

Defining what sort of business keeps most of its money within the local community was a bit trickier to define.  Operating on the statistic that for every $100 spent at a locally owned and operated business, $68 remains in the community as opposed to $13 that remains out of the same $100 spent at a national chain, Shop Local Delmarva defined "locally owned and operated business" as one that is most likely to meet the $68 statistic.

Shop Local Delmarva decided that locally owned and operated franchises should be excluded.  The operation of the franchise is still governed by people outside of the local community (loss of community identity), products sold to consumers or products used in a service based business or usually dictated to be purchased outside of the community (no flexibility to purchase locally produced products), and a sizable portion of the franchise's profits go to another state in the form of royalties and licensing fees. 

Shop Local Delmarva also decided to exclude businesses with absent owners, that is, owners that may have started the business while living in the community, but have decided to move or semi-retire to another state while maintaining the operation of the business.  Like the profits of a franchise, the profits of a business with an absent owner are going to another state to maintain the owner's residence and lifestyle in that state.

Ultimately, the definition of a locally owned and operated business is up to the individual to decide for him/herself.  Whether one only considers shopping local in his/her immediate community or a larger geographical area, the important thing is shop local, Delmarva!  If everyone made a ten percent shift in their spending habits towards locally owned and operated businesses, the local economy would see huge benefits. 

 

For a complete, formalized definition of "locally owned and operated business" as defined by Shop Local Delmarva, please see our "Get Listed" section and remember, if you own a business on Delmarva and your business meets the definition, you can get a basic listing that is, and always will be, free.

Make the 10% shift

Here's the biggest obstacle for many to shopping locally: Why should I pay $1.09 for a widget at a locally owned and operated business when I can get the same or equal widget for $0.99 at a Big box Store or off the Internet?   

The shop local message is directed at two audiences: one with disposable income and one who budgets from paycheck to paycheck.  For those who have disposable income, the message of why one should shop local rings loud and clear and are, most likely, shopping local as much as they can.

For the majority of people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, budget is important and no matter how many stats one posts about the benefits of shopping local, the shoppers' bank account determines where one shops.  Invariably, these consumers will opt for the widget that is ten cents cheaper.

Getting people to shop local, or at least thinking about breaking their routine and visiting some locally owned and operated shops, is a three-pronged effort.

First, educate the average shopper on the benefits of shopping local.  The benefits one would see in their community if everyone shopped local is a bit intangible to most people, yet immediately conceptualized by most  regardless of their budget.

Second, show the average consumer that not everything is "overpriced".  Sure, one could save by buying some "necessities" at a big chain store, but there are plenty of locally owned and operated business that offer competitive pricing, and, yes, cheaper pricing than the big box stores.   Not only offering the competitive pricing, but locally owned and operate businesses also offer a variety of products, often locally produced or in a "niche market", that one would never find a big box store.

Third, offer an opportunity to encourage the average shopper to shop local and discover what the big box stores don't offer.  Big box stores want you, your family, your neighbors, and friends to have everything the same because mass-produced items can be sold cheaply.  Your locally owned and operated businesses offer a variety the big box stores can't.  (Please read Shop Local Delmarva's article, The Homogenization of Rural Town, USA, for more information.) 

Some studies suggest that a 10% shift in spending habits aimed towards our locally owned and operated businesses would result in $140 million in new economic activity, create over 1,600 new jobs, and   provide $50 million in new wages.  No matter how tight one's budget is, making a 10% shift in spending habits is a doable goal for most people once they fully understand the importance of shopping locally.

Shop Local Delmarva created Shop Local Delmarva Day to help the average consumer learn more about why it is important to shop locally and to help achieve the 10% (or more) shift in spending habits.  By designating the second Saturday of every month as Shop Local Delmarva Day, the average consumer, regardless of their budget, can decide the best way to support his/hers local community by supporting his/hers locally owned and operated businesses. 

Let's say a couple spends $1,500 per month in all the major areas of expenses such as food, clothing, household, home improvement (including yard and gardens), and entertainment.  To meet the 10% goal, the couple could choose to spend $150 all on Shop Local Delmarva Day in several different locally owned stores or spread the spending out over the entire month (about $34 per week), depending on the couple's budget. 

With the numbers broken down, the couple can easily make conscious buying decisions.  Thirty-four dollars per week isn't a whole lot of money.  They can decide to stop at a produce stand on their way home from work to buy fresh, local produce (food); buy a new pair of shoes and a new shirt or blouse at a local boutique during their lunch hour (clothing); stop at the local hardware store on their way to do their weekly grocery shopping for odds and ends hardware (nails, hinges to fix a cabinet, or some paint or wood finish to bring new life to a piece of furniture or room) or stop at a local garden center for a bag of mulch, pest control products, or new fencing (home improvement); and stop at a locally owned restaurant, deli, or grocery market to pick up something to eat and drink instead of going through a national chain's drive thru (entertainment). 

With little shifts like these in shopping habits, the couple would easily make the 10% shift in spending habits towards our locally owned and operated businesses.  It may not sound like much, but if everyone made the tiny shift, the economic benefits to the community would be immense.  Please read American Independent Business Alliance's informative, yet easy-to-read, article, Benefits of Doing Business Locally, to learn how immense that impact can be. 

JEM Lumber to announce Shop Local Delmarva Day special

July 13th is our next Shop Local Delmarva Day.   JEM Lumber & Building Supply, LLC in Bridgeville, DE is celebrating the day by offering a week-long special!  If you have a major home improvement project to do, you'll definitely will want to stay tuned for the announcement of JEM Lumber's planned special exclusively for supporters of Shop Local Delmarva!  Be sure to tell your friends and contractors you know about Shop Local Delmarva Day so they don't miss out on JEM Lumber's support for our locally owned and operated businesses. 

The fine print: Announcement of JEM Lumber's promotion will be on July 5th and will be valid for the entire week leading up to Shop Local Delmarva Day.  Announcements will be made on the Shop Local Delmarva website, the Shop Local Delmarva FaceBook page, and the Shop Local Delmarva blog.