Sea Eagle Market & Beyond: Eat Local Seafood (part one)

Editor’s Note: This is Part One of “Sea Eagle Market & Beyond,” the most recent “DISH” from Seldon Ink. Part Two will be in the next issue of Lowcountry Weekly.

We’re lifelong seafood fans in a big way and love eating the local catch whenever possible. That’s easy in the Lowcountry, thanks to places like Sea Eagle Market, including their main Boundary Street location and a St. Helena Island outpost we love visiting.

Our passion for local seafood really took root when we lived on the coast of North Carolina for almost 15 years. Our home on a creek on Oak Island was just two miles from Haag & Sons Seafood, a legendary seafood shop owned and operated by Jon Haag, who taught us a ton about identifying, buying, preparing, and eating seafood—especially fresh, local seafood whenever possible.

When we told Jon we were moving to Beaufort, he said we were heading to another seafood mecca, where the Reaves family took long-time pride in providing local seafood at Sea Eagle Market and beyond. Once here, we quickly learned Jon wasn’t telling a tall fish tale (which he’d been known to do). Sea Eagle Market, Craig and Jana Reaves, and the extended Reaves family are truly a Lowcountry treasure when it comes to seafood and much more.

Some Not So Fishy History

The Sea Eagle story actually begins back near Oak Island, in Holden Beach, North Carolina. That’s where the Reaves family, including

Craig’s parents, Laten and Alice, started a shrimping operation in 1970. As their business and following expanded, they opened Reaves Fish Camp restaurant in 1980. 

The Reaves family continued to expand their seafood business beyond shrimping over the years, including oysters, crabs, and other seafood, with waterfront operations and many boats. In 2007, they purchased an existing seafood market on Boundary Street and opened it as Sea Eagle Market (much more on the great market later).

They also briefly owned and operated a Beaufort Reaves Fish Camp outpost on Salem Road in 2015, before opening Good Eats in the sprawling new Sea Eagle Market Boundary Street location in 2016. We loved Good Eats and have a fond memory of the first time we ate there. We were considering relocating to Beaufort and somehow ended up meeting then-mayor Billy Keyserling at Good Eats for lunch. He wore shorts and, between that and their popular Lowcountry Boil, we were hooked on Beaufort—and haven’t looked back.

We were sad when Good Eats closed in 2019. However, their catering component expanded after that and we’re happy to report that we get to enjoy several favorite Good Eats menu items when Sea Eagle is doing the cooking in the Lowcountry—including their Lowcountry Boil, of course.

In 2017, Sea Eagle at Village Creek opened out on St. Helena Island. The former location of Dopson Seafood is now a working waterfront and wonderful place to head for seafood fresh from the boats Wednesday to Saturday only. At the ribbon cutting, Craig reported that the opening of Sea Eagle Market at Village Creek really allowed them to streamline all their production in one place, making it more efficient and less expensive.

Run by Craig and Jana’s son, CJ, and daughter-in-law, Kim, Sea Eagle at Village Creek is eight years old and going strong. It remains well worth the drive for fresh seafood….and fresh air.

Of course, the Sea Eagle at Village Creek experience includes shrimp and a small selection of other seafood. But, visitors who venture down the sandy road to Village Creek will also enjoy a great vibe and views, often including one or more of varied Reaves family boats, like the Gracie Belle, Palmetto Pride, Lydia Leigh.

Loyal Sea Eagle fans will fondly recall CJ Seafood Express, another long-time Reaves family offering on Ribaut Road. Situated just a mile

from our house and next to bustling Alvin Ord’s, which often provides us with one-stop two-for-one seafood and sandwich shopping, CJ’s closed in late April after a 19-year run. We will most definitely miss Tony’s smiling face and banter on Ribaut Road (see below for breaking news), but we’re happy to report this convenient seafood hotspot has already re-opened with new ownership and a new name: Mac’s Seafood Express.

New owner Mark Mckay (of Scottish and Jamaican descent) says they’re still buying seafood from Sea Eagle Market in a big way. We can report our first experiences at Mac’s Seafood Express last month were great, when we were in search of fresh springtime “roe” shrimp and, ironically, some tasty Scottish salmon from the North Atlantic. And, we’re pleased to dish out some breaking news: Tony is back in the Sea Eagle mix and will be selling shrimp and more from the docks at Sea Eagle at Village Creek, Wednesday to Saturday.

Visiting Sea Eagle Market

We love heading to Sea Eagle Market with no preconceived plan of what we’ll buy and prepare. We used to do the same thing when heading to Oak Island’s Haag & Sons Seafood, asking, “What’s for dinner?” when we got to the counter.

 

Sea Eagle Market

2149 Boundary St.

Beaufort, SC 29902

(843) 521-5090

seaeaglemarket.com

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9am to 6pm

 

Sea Eagle Market at Village Creek
34 Hallmark Rd.

St. Helena Island, SC 29920

(843) 838-3281

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm

 

 

Beaufort-based travel journalists and seafood lovers Lynn and Cele Seldon (www.seldonink.com) often cover culinary travel around the world and Lowcountry Weekly lured them to write a monthly feature covering the local food scene. This includes articles about restaurants, chefs, food-focused stores, farms, farmers, farmers markets, and more. They welcome suggestions for topics, as well as recommendations for their upcoming book, 100 Things to Do in the South Carolina Lowcountry Before You Die.