Hundreds of Oyster Lovers Eat Up at Shuck It!

More than 600 Georgetown residents and visitors moved eagerly between oyster and beer stations on the afternoon of Oct. 19, watching dozens of oystershuckers opening thousands of fresh oysters — 1 in 3 seconds by this reporter’s observation — onto plates that many grabbed and slurped up on the spot. This was the 11th Annual Georgetown Shuck It! Oyster & Beer Festival at Tony and Joes’ Seafood Place at Washington Harbour along the Potomac River.

“It never rains on Shuck It!” said Dave Peva, restaurant manager. “We had 600 oyster-loving patrons thanks to the perfect weather,” added Greg Casten, operations director of the restaurant and CEO of Profish.

It was a sunny 70 degrees with a breeze, and the outdoor tables were full of adults of all ages, enjoying the music of two popular returning boomer bands, the Yachtsmen and Jumpin’ Jupiter.

Besides the as-much-as-you-can-eat oysters, guests were offered oysters of all kinds including barbecued Oysters Rockefeller with melted cheese and spinach cooked on site at a side grill — along with endless offerings from Tony and Joes’ cups of clam chowder, shrimp and pasta, sliders, house-smoked wings and freshly grilled brats and buns. Add to those delectables a wide assortment of local brews and wines. An average count of oysters consumed at one table of six was about 12 each.

The event was co-sponsored again the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a program of the Chesapeake Bar Foundation that in 2014 committed to supporting the Watershed Agreement with federal and state agencies to fully restore Chesapeake Bay tributaries for oyster habitat by 2025. Projects staff and volunteers recent monitoring of restored reefs show that “most are now sustaining or expanding while meeting or exceeding criteria for oyster abundance,” according to project coordinators at the oyster shucking event.

Longtime Georgetowners agreed that Tony and Joe’s Oyster Festival was one of their favorite fall events in Georgetown. They also recalled the charismatic patriarch of the restaurant, Tony Cibel — a native Washingtonian who owned and operated D.C. businesses, including Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grill for over 50 years — who died Jan. 4 at the age of 86. Here’s to Tony!

tagsbeerbratwurstDave PevaGeorgetown waterfrontGreg CastenoystersPotomac RiverTony and Joe's Seafood PlaceTony CibelWashington Harbourwine