Close-up of a fish with iridescent blue, green, and yellow scales and black spots.

TRUST LOCAL.

EAT FRESH.

North Carolina seafood caught by North Carolina fishermen.

Our mission is simple: sell the best North Carolina seafood to North Carolinians. Our crew drives to the coast 4 to 5 times a week to buy the freshest, most premium seafood straight from the source — hardworking fishing families. We bring it back to Raleigh, where we cut, pack, sell, cook and eat it. Whether it be through restaurants, grocers and farmers markets or our own East Raleigh HQ and namesake restaurant in the Durham Food Hall, you are guaranteed to get the freshest, highest quality product always.

AS LOCAL AS IT GETS

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AS LOCAL AS IT GETS •

Markets

The Locals Seafood East Raleigh Market Headquarters with a sign that says "Trust Local. Eat Fresh."

Restaurant

Shrimp roll with chopped chives, lemon wedges, on a toasted bun on a white ridged plate from Locals Seafood Restaurant and Market in the Durham Food Hall.

Wholesale

A close-up of a black grouper head on ice, showing its eye, mouth, and scales.

Ask a LOCAL

for expert advice. 

Close-up of a red durm lying on crushed ice, showing its scales, fins, and tail with two visible black spots.

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

Curious about a species?

Person shucking oysters on ice with a bushel of oysters in the foreground.

Wondering how to thaw your fish or the best cooking method?

Seafood chowder in a blue bowl, saltines and a vessel of black pepper on a table.

Need some recipe inspiration?

Join our Seasonal Seafood Subscription

Calling all seafood lovers! Sign up for the Locals Catch Seafood Subscription to receive seasonal North Carolina seafood every week. Our program is a great way to explore the state’s seafood while saving money. Each weekly subscription includes two selections of North Carolina seafood. These selections are usually a pound each, but some items (like oysters, soft shell crabs and the like) are included by count rather than weight.

ABOUT
LOCALS

SEAFOOD

Years of experience go into every aspect of our business, learning from previous generations and teaching future generations.

  • Locals Seafood started with a single item for sale: the humble shrimp. In 2010, college buddies Lin & Ryan began selling Stumpy Point shrimp out of a tailgate cooler on the side of the road in Raleigh, North Carolina. The story starts a bit earlier, though.

    Ryan was living in the Outer Banks a few years before that tailgate cooler. His fishermen friends would bring over freshly caught fish every night. They would feast on pan-seared sheepshead, crispy soft-shell crabs, and boiled shrimp. Having spent much of his life in the NC piedmont, Ryan wondered why folks further inland didn’t have better access to this resource. After moving back inland himself, he called his buddy Lin with an idea. Could they bring this fresh product to Triangle chefs, grocery stores, and consumers? Would these folks want to eat fish like monkfish, mullet, and mackerel? 

    The answer was a resounding yes. Locals Seafood is still dedicated to that original idea today. Our crew drives to the coast 4 to 5 times a week to buy super fresh premium seafood straight from the source. We bring this product back to Raleigh, where we cut, pack, and sell it through various channels. Whether it be straight to restaurants, through farmers markets or at our namesake restaurant, you are guaranteed to get the freshest product always.

  • Our mission is simple: sell North Carolina seafood to North Carolinians.

    Most North Carolina seafood is shipped up the east coast to northern markets. By creating a market for this seafood inside state lines, we can help instill stability and prosperity to our state’s fisherfolk, oyster farmers, shrimpers, fish houses, and processors. Providing access to North Carolina seafood for North Carolina consumers allows residents to directly benefit from their taxpayer-managed fisheries. This increases demand for North Carolina product across the seafood market, incentivizing coastal professionals to sell more product within their home state.

  • PEOPLE

    We’ve forged strong personal relationships with the folks who catch, harvest, and process the product we sell. Whether it’s blue crab from Denny R. in Columbia, red drum from O’Neals Fish House in Wanchese, oysters from Adam T. in Core Sound or shrimp from Luke M. in Stumpy Point, these relationships result in a better product for our customers and a shorter supply chain for our seafood.

    TRACEABILITY

    We know where our product came from, when it came out of the ocean, and how it was caught or harvested. This knowledge enables us to guarantee the freshness and quality of our product. If you ever want to know more about an item’s origin, just ask! 

    TURN AROUND TIME

    Driving to the coast 3 to 4 times a week means we always have fresh inventory on hand. This product is cut and packed at our cut shop in Raleigh by some of the most experienced fishmongers in the state. Their expertise ensures nothing but the best ends up in our customers’ hands.

Locals Seafood founder, Ryan Speckman and Lin Peterson, sitting and smiling at the camera. Behind them are black and white photo of commercial fishing on a wooden wall.