JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Stay at home orders are preventing folks from going out to restaurants due to the spread of COVID-19. The orders are also forcing people to stay in instead of attend gatherings and crawfish boils.
Southeast Texas Crawfish Farm in Hamshire is taking a major hit -- and owners are concerned they might not bounce back. Normally, restaurants in Southeast Texas and Houston purchase the crawfish in bulk. That's just not the case right now.
"I don't anticipate it changing so we will just have to ride it out and see where we go with it," said co-owner John Gaulding.
Crawfish production is still underway on the 1,900 acre farm, but sales have seen a significant dip because of the coronavirus.
Gaulding says newly implemented coronavirus restrictions aren't making things any easier.
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"The chances of having a crawfish boil and have a big group, a get together has been taken away so mostly people are coming out one maybe two sacks at a time, where usually they would be getting three, four, five, six, seven," Gaulding said.
What's happening is a trend that's been seen across the country.
Gaulding did say the farm also produces rice, and he hasn't yet seen the pandemic impact that market.
"We're just getting the rice planted, we won't know until the harvest time whether it's going to impact our market, obviously, that's a concern of ours if we can't move the rice," Gaulding said. "We will just have to weather it out the best we can."
Crawfish season normally runs from March until mid-June. If you're interested in getting in touch to purchase crawfish, you can call (409)-794-1387. You can also visit the farm's website.
