Y’all, Mardi Gras is just around the corner. Where can you get live crawfish and oysters, king cake and fresh jumbo Gulf shrimp in the land-locked Ozarks?
From Kelby Hutsler, AKA the Shrimp Runner.
Every week — weather permitting — Hutsler loads up his truck and trailer and drives to the docks in Biloxi, Mississippi, to haul back fresh seafood for customers in West Plains and Springfield.
From the docks to your house is about 24 hours and there is no middleman. The Shrimp Runner takes orders in advance, then sets up in a parking lot in Springfield for a couple of hours, and people can pick up their orders. Orders are due by 4 p.m. every Wednesday and he’s in Springfield Saturdays (sometimes on Friday, but he posts details every week on Facebook).
While seafood is his main domain, the entrepreneur also sells roux, alligator, multiple selections of boudin (a sausage made with pork and rice), andouille, crab legs, smoked tuna dip, premade Desporte Seafood gumbo, crab cakes and more. The Desporte family has been in the seafood business since the 1880s in Biloxi. The crab cakes are famous, he says.
Blue crab, crawfish are popular this time of year
Hutsler said his clients range from southern and eastern natives, tourists who fell in love with food on their trips down South and people who just crave good seafood.
Right now, blue crabs are a big seller because they appeal to transplants from the East Coast and the South. He sells 6,000-8,000 pounds of blue crab a year.
We also have a mighty appetite for crawfish in the Ozarks. His customers order 10,000-12,000 pounds of crawfish a year — people like Vlae Okara, who bought a 31-pound bag of crawfish on Saturday.
“I’ve been eating them my whole life,” Okara said, before walking away with his bag in tow. Okara saw the Shrimp Runner’s first Facebook post and has been a customer since day one.
Crawfish season is going on now and will be even better in March (if you’re hosting a Super Bowl party, Hutsler is taking orders). Prices fluctuate each week based on the fishermen’s prices, but for example, last week crawfish were $4.50 a pound if you ordered more than 30 pounds; $5.25 a pound for orders of 10-30 pounds (10-pound minimum order on whole crawfish).
King cake, a Mardi Gras tradition, available now
There are two weeks left to get your order in a king cake from Rouses Markets. Options include traditional cinnamon king cake or Bavarian, lemon, cherry, apple, blueberry, strawberry or chocolate.
King cakes originated as a Catholic tradition and were consumed on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, which represents when the wise men visited baby Jesus. Today, the cakes are sold throughout the Mardi Gras season. And while Mardi Gras is technically a day known as Fat Tuesday — this year it falls on February 21, the day before Lent begins — it’s a season in states like Mississippi and Louisiana.
That season is celebrated with balls, ongoing parades, parties and food galore, including massive amounts of king cake. According to an article in Epicurious, the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates more than 750,000 king cakes are sold in New Orleans during Mardi Gras season. King cakes are traditionally baked with a plastic baby inside, representing baby Jesus, but now some bakeries put the baby on the side to prevent someone from choking on the trinket.
While seafood is available all year, there are only two more chances to get a king cake from the Shrimp Runner.
Business launched during the pandemic becomes a full-time job
Hutsler is a Kansas City native who moved to West Plains a decade ago. He and his wife Sherri own a farm and have eight children — only three remain at home.
For the past few years, Hutsler has built this business. It started during the pandemic. His wife is a travel nurse and early in the pandemic, she took a job in Mississippi. While the family was visiting, the campground manager where they were staying suggested he go down to the docks to watch the shrimp boats come in.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said.
But Hutsler fell in love. He brought back some shrimp for friends and took orders on his next trip and word got around. It was summer, so he and the kids would take frequent trips back and forth. His children help with the business and son Eli, 13, said he loves summer when he can travel with his dad.
Little by little, orders started flowing in. Every week, Hutsler posts prices and inventory on his Facebook page. At the time he was a history teacher, but a year ago he quit his job to do this full-time.
Freshness, variety make Hutsler's product stand out
The demand for fresh seafood is higher in West Plains because Springfield has more grocery stores and restaurants where people can find quality seafood. What makes his product stand out is it’s so fresh and there are many options, he says. There are also unique products like shrimp with heads on and alligator.
Fish lovers have options for fresh or frozen whole fish. Red snapper, grouper, redfish, brown trout and yellowfin tuna are popular options. Sometimes he can get seabass or mahi-mahi.
Oyster lovers can get a rarity in this part of the country — fresh oysters. While oysters are in season year-round, the best months to eat them are months that have an R in them: September through April, so get your oysters now.
And of course, there’s lots of fresh shrimp — what started the business. Hutsler brings back 5,000-6,000 pounds a year. Occasionally, Hutsler stocks some extra shrimp and customers like John Schurke know that, so they swing by even if they don’t have an order. On Saturday, Schurke popped in to buy two pounds of extra shrimp.
That’s how Schurke discovered the Shrimp Runner originally.
“I was driving by and saw him and thought, ‘What the heck is that,’ so I pulled in,” Schurke said.
Shrimp Runner loves ‘making people happy'
Hutsler offers delivery on large orders with a fuel surcharge of 3 percent of the order. Rising fuel costs have hurt his business in the past year.
“I love doing this for the customer, but I’ve taken a hit to the bottom line because of gas prices,” Hutsler said.
But he plugs away and wants to continue to grow the business. Hutsler said he loves being in the service industry.
“I love making people happy. When someone loves to cook or misses a certain food and I can bring it to them, I love seeing the smile on their face,” he said. “I do this to make money, but what I really love is customer service and making people happy.”
About the Shrimp Runner
Prices each week are available on Shrimp Runner’s Facebook page. Currently, customers can pick up their orders on Saturdays at The Hibiscus Jerk Hut, 1834 N. Glenstone Ave., in Springfield in the afternoon, or in the morning at Go Farm Farmers Market of West Plains.
