Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Bernetskie.
Hi Jonathan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started off working with a friend shucking oysters at the Hollywood Farmers Market in Los Angeles and catering oyster bars mostly in the Hollywood Hills area. I lived in San Diego but would drive up on weekends to work with him.
I saw that nobody was selling oysters at the San Diego farmers markets so I decided to start my own oyster business in my hometown about 8 years ago.
When I first started our menu consisted of raw and grilled oysters and locally caught live sea urchin. After covid we added lobster rolls and grilled scallops on the shell.
We do 5 farmers markets. Ocean Beach, Oceanside, little Italy, Hillcrest and recently started Huntington beach.
We have two catering concepts. One is a raw bar station where we use an ice table thats in the shape of a boat.
The second option is mobile oyster bar. Oyster guys/girls roam amongst guests with our custom oyster belts. We walk amongst guests, shucking and
dressing oysters.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was not a smooth road in the beginning. I got way ahead of myself by getting my own warehouse to run my business out of. It took way longer to get building plans/permits and cost alot more than I imagined it would. I should have started smaller and worked my way up to having my own facility.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I named the business after my late father. His name was Jack and he was a captain in the United States Navy.
We are known for our variety of high quality raw and grilled oysters, locally cught live sea urchin, lobster rolls and scallops.
We get the oysters delivered twice a week. The oysters come from all over the US, Canada and Mexico.
Our sea urchin comes from local San Diego divers. We pick it up Saturday morning from the doc and bring it to the market. People literally travel from all over the world to come to the market and try our sea urchin. Guests tell us this all the time..
We are very well known for our grilled oysters. They are grilled with garlic butter, parmesan cheese and parsley.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love everything about this city. I was born and raised here and never want to leave.
The amazing weather we have allows us to run our outdoor farmers market business year round
I love the support we get from the locals who live here and high volume of tourist that visit our beautiful city.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://captainjacksshellfish.com/
- Instagram: _captainjacks_
