In a world where nearly everything can be found at a single supermarket, Skip and Jordan Manchester are showing customers that making the extra stop at the town’s local fish market, Westport Lobster Company, is worth it. Jordan is using her social media marketing skills and insights into consumer trends (such as eating whole fish and products that are responsibly harvested) to garner more interest in local seafood, especially among younger customers.

*Jordan Manchester at Westport Lobster, May 2020*

Life by the Sea

Jordan Manchester, Skip and Pam’s eldest daughter, grew up on the water of Westport just like her father. “Whether it was waiting for my dad's lobster boat to come back in or just going out and fishing,” Jordan’s childhood was marked by time spent at the sea. Reflecting on her earlier years, Jordan recalls catching a fluke that her family ate for dinner. Skip chimes in, explaining that “fluke fishing is the one type you guys used to like because the boat would just drift and you could just stay with your poles. Even your mother liked it, because she used to get seasick.”

Even though Jordan has gone on to pursue her own dreams of being an educator and school administrator in the Boston Public Schools, she notes that this deeply-rooted connection to the ocean has kept her close to the family business. “I feel like out of the three daughters, I'm the one that’s gravitated the most toward my dad's way of life,” she notes. Jordan graduated from UMass Amherst having studied History and Education, spending the summers after college working with Skip at his seafood wholesale business. “I was there the very first summer that he got things up and running. That's something that's always been really special to me: I feel like I've been there in the trenches with my dad – not really in the trenches, but as much in the trenches as I'll get,” Jordan explains with a smile.

Since her summers at the market learning how to cut fish and perform other “less glamorous” tasks, Jordan has been working as a history teacher in the Boston Public School system and is working toward becoming a school principal. “That's where my passion is,” she explains. “But I've always said that if I didn't love what I did so much, I would love to run Westport Lobster because I have an affinity for it from working there and just being around it.” Throughout the last year and over the summer in particular, Jordan was able to spend more time at the market, adding, “It really came full circle for me.”

*Jordan on Skip’s boat, F/V Jo-An-Ha, after her father returned from an offshore trip*

*Rrom left to right, Andee (Jordan’s younger sister), Pam (Jordan’s mother), and Jordan on the family's skiff*

Such a Thing as Too Much Lobster?

Jordan notes that running the market’s social media has come with a significant learning curve. “There's a lot that goes into creating effective marketing. I really try to convey that our products are fresh, that they just came in this morning, that they’re local.” She adds that on the flip side of these benefits, the popularity of what they offer can get out of hand. “A few months ago, we did a big lobster blowout and I promoted it on social media to the point where we had the police show up because it got out of control,” Jordan says.

This growth is largely tied to the improvements in quality that have been made since Skip acquired the market a year ago. According to Skip, they “have a lot of loyalty” when it comes to the fishermen from whom they source their products. “Fishermen in general really are conservation minded, and I pay better prices than a lot of people pay because I have been doing it a long time. I know that there's no shortcut for quality.” The reviews for Westport Lobster speak for themselves: “People rave and rave and rave about the quality and how that's improved in the last 12 months, and it’s really nice to see that people are noticing that,” Jordan says.

How to support Skip Manchester + Westport Lobster Company:

Visit The Store: 915 Main Road Westport, MA

Website & Join Their Email List: www.westportlobstercompany.com

Instagram: @westportlobstercompany

Facebook: www.facebook.com/westportlobstercompany

Visions for the Future

When asked about their plans for Westport Lobster, Jordan and Skip are excited about the possibilities that the next few years hold. Skip describes the physical location of their business, explaining that the market is housed in an antique building constructed in the early nineteenth century. Additionally, it is located on the corner of Main Street and the main road that goes into Rhode Island. “It's an unbelievable location, but it's also a really historic building that’s owned by a former fisherman and has always been owned by a fisherman,” Skip explains. With Pam being an interior designer and decorator, the family is restoring life to the building. “This could really be something cool. You know, we could come out of the ashes of something unbelievable.”

Their visions for growth have changed drastically since the change in ownership, and they continue to evolve. Skip says that their initial vision was revised after such overwhelmingly positive feedback, opening their eyes to even grander opportunities for growth that would benefit the greater community. “Jordan has had some really good ideas,” he adds. “We are hoping to do some value added products, maybe a section where you can get premade foods.”

Working with the Community

Skip and Jordan also mention that they have partnered with a local catering company, Compton Clambakes, whose events were cancelled for the year due to COVID-19. By forging a partnership, this provided income to a chef who would otherwise be out of work while allowing Westport Lobster to sell prepared foods to the community. Skip notes that customers appreciate this partnership as well, as it allows them to support two local businesses at the same time. True to his way, Skip acknowledges that they are in a privileged and fortunate position when many business owners during this time are not. “I feel badly that COVID has enabled our business to grow, but I feel like we're at least here in a good way for the people who need us.”

Jordan’s understanding of how to meet the needs of customers and work with community partners is opening up new doors for the family business, and it is this kind of creativity that has allowed them to grow their vision for success. The Manchesters are humbled by the support of their town, and it shows not only in the way they lead their business but in the respect that their customers have for them as well.