Calamari has a cult following in Rhode Island, crowned the official state appetizer in 2014.
But how many calamari connoisseurs know what it takes to turn those tentacled ocean-dwellers into the golden fried rings gracing menus across the state?
It’s a laborious, precise and often-pungent process, according to Ryan G. Clark, CEO and president of The Town Dock. Over his 25 years working for the company started by his father, Clark has become intimately familiar with the steps – and smells – involved in the Narragansett seafood business.
The family-owned business made a name for itself as one of the largest wholesale distributors of calamari nationwide. What makes it unique, apart from the Point Judith location, heralded for its abundance of catches of squid, is a vertically integrated model. Local fishermen head out on the company’s 30-boat fishing fleet to capture squid and other fish, which are then unloaded, cleaned, processed and packed in an assembly-line style production before being shipped to wholesalers and restaurants nationwide.
Clark, who started at the family business as a high school student, has done it all, from driving the forklift to painstakingly cleaning out each individual squid tube.
“It’s a messy job but something we’re very familiar with,” he said.
The company sells both rings and tentacles, but consumers tend to prefer the ring-only packages, stripped of the more off-putting reminders that the popular fried appetizer was once an ocean creature.
After pandemic-induced restaurant shutdowns forced many frequent diners back to their own kitchens, The Town Dock launched a new brand of retail products aimed at allowing calamari consumers to embrace squid at home – with recipe suggestions for baking, sauteing and air-frying.
Squid rings now grace the freezer aisle of grocery stores nationwide, including many in Rhode Island.
While restaurants and wholesale continue to be The Town Dock’s foundation, the foray into retail sales was the driver behind company growth over the last two years, Clark said.
“Retail is driving a big piece of our future,” he said.
New markets aside, much of the company’s fundamentals have stayed the same through its 42-year history, including after Clark took the helm in 2016.
Clark touted the company employees’ experience for helping ride out the rocky seas created by the pandemic, which took boat crews out of commission due to COVID-19 outbreaks while slowing down shipments and creating hiring woes.
The pandemic isn’t the only problem. Looming large on the horizon are major offshore wind arrays slated for nearby waters, which have been met with criticism by local fishermen who fear towering turbines will disrupt the sensitive species around them.
Clark said the company will continue to monitor closely what happens next with these projects, adding that it’s still unclear exactly how this new frontier of renewable energy will affect area fisheries.
“It’s in our interest to fight for the fishermen and make sure we have a voice in the process,” he said.
OWNER: Ryan G. Clark
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Wholesale and retail calamari supplier
LOCATION: 45 State St., Narragansett
EMPLOYEES: 70
YEAR FOUNDED: 1980
ANNUAL SALES: WND
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
