If New Orleans is the capital of the seafood universe, then Bucktown is the capital of New Orleans-area seafood. And among the many purveyors of the fruits of the sea, nobody serves it better than Captain Sid’s.
At 1700 Lake Avenue, Captain Sid’s Seafood is truly in the heart of Bucktown. It was founded in 1979 by the eponymous Sid Patrick, who had developed his own unique seafood seasonings and wanted a showcase for them. Captain Sid retired in 2015, handing the wheel to his nephew Ray Schlaudecker.
According to Schlaudecker, “Our signature seasoning blend is still what sets us apart. We ship it all over the country.”
Schlaudecker is committed to maintaining the same standards set by his uncle.
“All our seafood is, if not from around Bucktown, from Louisiana,” he noted. “We sell quality products, and most important, we have great customer service. If you read about us on social media, that’s what comes up most often, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
The seafood business in Southeast Louisiana is surprisingly seasonal. During the 90-day March through May crawfish season, the staff at Captain Sid’s grows from five people to 12, and Schlaudecker estimates that 70% to 80% of his annual revenue comes in at that time.
“The name of the game the rest of the year is to find a way to break even,” he said, adding that the difficult economy of the past five years has only made that challenge greater. “Government support for small businesses is nonexistent, but the local community has supported us as much as they can. But they get affected by the economy too.”
Sales during the leaner times rely heavily on boiled crabs and boiled shrimp. Additional valuable revenue generators are Captain Sid’s popular potato salad and shrimp salad.
“We can’t even keep up with making enough of it,” said Schlaudecker with a smile.
To give customers another reason to come into the store outside of crawfish season, Schlaudecker recently decided to step outside of the seafood box and begin smoking barbecue and selling barbecue platters, which, he reported, has been a big help.
One advantage of being in business for nearly 50 years is that Captain Sid’s has built a longstanding, loyal customer base, who in turn are the store’s best promoters.
“Word of mouth, and of course with the world we live in now, social media – that’s all the advertising you need,” Schlaudecker said. “We do all the social media. Any business that doesn’t is going to be left behind.”
Having a national fan base is also useful; Captain Sid’s ships everything from its proprietary seasonings to sacks of live crawfish. A recent day had deliveries marked for Salt Lake City, Chicago, Tampa and Los Angeles. Schlaudecker brings the squirming mudbugs to the airport himself, where the flat $75 overnight shipping rate gets them to their intended destinations. No reports on what the cargo holds smell like after …
Despite the challenges, Captain Sid’s is truly a mainstay of the No. 1 local seafood neighborhood, an unassuming institution with a great tradition.
“This business has been in the family since 1979,” Schlaudecker pointed out proudly, “and I don’t see an end in sight.”
Captain Sid’s Seafood
1700 Lake Ave., Metairie
504-831-2840
captainsids.com
F: @captain-sids-seafood
I: @captsids
