May 18, 2012
a good start
It wasn’t too long ago that my wife Nancy and I were on the patio enjoying time with good friends. As usual, I broke out my stuffed quahogs and put them on the grill, just as I’ve been doing for who knows how long now. We are fortunate to live in a place where we have quahogs almost literally in our back yard, so these have been part of the menu at our house for some time. Where there are friends, typically there are my stuffed quahogs. It’s something that I enjoy sharing and my friends seem to enjoy as well. When the weather is warm, you’re just as likely to find some of them in the water digging clams too.
Friends have been telling me for a while “You should sell these!”, but since they were talking with a mouthful, I thought they were saying “moosho shell-knees” and I had no idea what they meant by that…Until sometime early this summer, when two of my good friends, Jay and Jason, asked if I would make some for them to buy and share with friends, or keep a personal stash in their freezers for themselves. It’s not because I like taking money from my friends, but because I really do enjoy making and sharing my quahogs that I agreed. I think they each needed only a couple of dozen at the time, and I don’t recall exactly how many I made, but my philosophy has always been “Why make a few when a few hundred will do?” I assume that most people who know me well would agree that I’m Wicked crazy like that.
So for the first time, I made my stuffed quahogs available for purchase. Jay and his wife Suzie and Jayson and his wife Beth were my first customers. They served them to friends and family, who asked how to get their own. They gave out my number and my phone started to ring. A lot.
The stuffed quahogs have had a great following through word-of-mouth and continues to spread with every quahog served. It seems that every time a dozen stuffed quahogs makes it to the table, I get a call from a handful of people wanting them for a party or cookout or to keep in the freezer for unexpected quests or a midnight snack. They have been brought back to homes on Cape Cod, Boston, throughout Massachusetts, New York and beyond. I’m now working on shipping them frozen, and have people waiting in other parts of the country that can’t wait until their next visit to the Cape. There are others that have said that they use my quahogs as an excuse to visit the Cape. Believe me when I tell you that this all goes right to my head.
It didn’t take long before I was no longer able to dig sufficient quantities of quahogs to support the habits of my Wicked Quahog lovers, and began working with wholesale suppliers of large quantities of quahogs for stuffing. For anyone that has grown anxious over your addiction, you may find comfort to know that I now enjoy access to more than 50,000 quahogs at any given time. They are lining up and just waiting to be stuffed full of The Wicked. It’s just like Captain Brody said in the movie Jaws: “We’re gonna need a bigger freezer!” or something like that.
And if you know me, you’ve probably guessed by now that I have purchased a new freezer. One that I’m guessing should hold a thousand stuffed quahogs or so. In addition, I’ve developed relationships with wholesalers of produce, chourico and other ingredients that make The Wicked Quahogs so Wicked Good.
Additionally I have, with help, chosen to name this crazy endeavor. If you haven’t already guessed, it’s The Wicked Quahog, and with that I’ve created an even-more-crazy tagline “Eat The Wicked”. It’s got just a touch of wicked and a bunch of fun.
I’ve made it almost official and opened a bank account for The Wicked Quahog and I couldn’t stop myself from creating the www.TheWickedQuahog.com website. The Wicked Quahog can now accept credit cards for online and offline orders alike. This is what happens when I take Mondays off for the summer.
Some Wicked News to look forward to…
Where will the commercial kitchen be? Will I build my own or team up with a local restaurant?
Hundreds of stylish pieces of clothing that are soon to be adorned with the images and thoughtful sayings of The Wicked. Why do a few, when hundreds will do? What will they be?
You may find things like “Fill your life with friends, and fill your friends with The Wicked.” ~ (Dan Sawyer circa today)
Will I purchase the behemoth food processor and save hours of cutting, chopping and preparation time?
Will I answer the question that my wife keeps asking…“Where is all this going, anyway?”
Where will the commercial kitchen be? Will I build my own or team up with a local restaurant?
Hundreds of stylish pieces of clothing that are soon to be adorned with the images and thoughtful sayings of The Wicked. Why do a few, when hundreds will do? What will they be?
You may find things like “Fill your life with friends, and fill your friends with The Wicked.” ~ (Dan Sawyer circa today)
Will I purchase the behemoth food processor and save hours of cutting, chopping and preparation time?
Will I answer the question that my wife keeps asking…“Where is all this going, anyway?”
