The Todd family has been working at catching and selling seafood from the Chesapeake Bay for 8 generations. They started out catching fish and oysters in the very early 1800's and have been at it ever since.
In 1945, I.T. Todd returned from World War II with a previous career in accounting. At a crossroads in his life, he drew upon his families history working the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and his summers spent crabbing its waters to support his college education. Taking on a partial ownership in Metompkin Bay Oyster Co., a small packing house in Crisfield, Md., he dedicated his life to the production of quality Chesapeake seafood from its doors. Almost sixty years later, after much hard work, many changes in the bay, and many changes in the seafood industry, I.T.'s leadership has evolved Metompkin into a major producer of Chesapeake seafood. Approaching his ninth decade, I.T. still arrives at work every morning to ensure that Metompkin's product continues to meet his high standards.
I.T.'s two sons, Casey and Michael, returned to Metompkin after ventures to college, graduate school, and law school in the early 1980's. Both began their careers at Metompkin as teenagers working on the processing line. Their experience in seafood processing has progressed from the bottom up. This allows the focus of the company to remain fixed on the freshness, taste, and quality of it's products. Hands on management learned from their father continues to guarantee products whose quality remains subject to the responsibility of individuals. Businesss with Metompkin continues to be connected with the voice, face, and person responsible for your purchase.
The increasing demand for Metompkin products has lead to a search for oysters from the south and west as well as soft-crabs and crabmeat from Asia. Casey and Mike have spear-headed ventures into crabmeat plants in Indonesia and soft-shell farms in Thailand. The sourcing of these products has been done with a constant eye on quality. Metompkin seafood is still the "hands on" product it has been for sixty years.
Today another generation is learning the business from the processing lines and Metompkin is poised to supply quality products in this new century. I.T. will not continue to come to work forever, nor will Casey or Mike, but the tradition of Metompkin seafood is a life's work spanning generations.