New Ocean City Business: Make Your Own Seafood Steam Pot

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Topsail Steamer offers a fresh twist on Jersey Shore seafood fare. The North Carolina-based business lets you choose between custom seafood steam pots to bring home and make yourself.

The eatery will expand into Ocean City. Owner Danielle Mahon expects the 3400 West Ave. location to open around April 1.

"It's a fresh seafood option, but it's also an experience," Mahon said.

Mahon and her husband grew up in New Jersey — Danielle around Tabernacle and Marlton in Burlington County, and her husband in the Merchantville-Cherry Hill area.

They both grew up visiting the Shore, and her husband has family in Strathmere. Even though Mahon and her husband moved from New Jersey to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2003, they still visit the Strathmere area during summer.

They visited around Memorial Day weekend last summer. Mahon tried to stop by the Fudge Shop — labeled Laura's Fudge — but noticed that it was closed. But she saw potential in its location.

"I had thought about expanding into that area because we know it so well," she said. "It was just timing that was made it a great opportunity. (3400 West Ave.) fit everything that we needed in terms of location and size."

Topsail Steamer has two North Carolina locations. Here's how their business works. Customers order from one of their seven signature seafood buckets or make their own bucket. Then customers cook the single-use, fully recyclable pot at home — there's no on-site cooking. But Mahon says they make the cooking easy.

The one-time-use buckets come with fresh local seafood, meats, veggies and homemade seasonings. They also feature a base of corn and potatoes, as well as cocktail sauce and butter.

The bucket sizes range from the Low Tider (serves two or three) and the High Tider (serves four or five). Add two cups of water or beer, and cook it on your stovetop for 40 or 50 minutes.

Selling seafood steam pots is more common in North Carolina. But Mahon says Topsail Steamer still does things differently from most of their steam pot competitors.

"Most of the time it’s associated with a full-service restaurant or seafood market," Mahon said. "What’s different about our model is that’s all we do. We don’t have the restaurant or market. We just build the steam pots fresh for customers."

Topsail Steamer is still figuring out which months they'll operate. They like to stay open through the holiday season in North Carolina.

Mahon anticipates the Ocean City location will close in January, hold limited hours in February and reopen full-time in March. But if you want to try Topsail Steamer before they open, you can also order online.

"I’m going to let the business in Ocean City tell us about the local scene, if there’s enough people to support us staying open," Mahon said. "And if there are, we certainly will."

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