Sustainability Through the Seafood Business

“We’re trying to sustain a culture that could, in theory, go away,” says Rising Star Chef Justin LeBlanc. With both locations of his Bevi Seafood Co., LeBlanc took the existing infrastructure of waning seafood markets and converted each into a restaurant/seafood market/crawfish supplier. Supplementing the retail side of the business with a cafe means product is always fresh, he can support more fishermen and farmers, and LeBlanc can turn a profit. “Places that don’t have a foodservice component fold,” he says. “But grocery stores bastardize the city, and there are some things that should stay the way they are.” Namely, knowing your fishmonger and having access to fresh, local seafood.