Sea Eagle Market buys Dopson Seafood, expanding to St. Helena
Darlene Dopson feared development would overtake a St. Helena Island shrimping institution.
She and her husband, Craig, poured 40 years into Dopson Seafood and worried imported shrimp and a thirst for waterfront property would eventually shutter the business.
"St. Helena Island is all fishermen and shrimpers and oystermen, and I'd like for it to stay that way," Darlene said in a 2014 video for the S.C. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Now another local shrimping establishment is granting that wish.
Sea Eagle Market is expanding to St. Helena after the Reaves family bought Dopson Seafood this week. The new-look business will be known as Sea Eagle at Village Creek and will include seafood processing, a retail operation and event space, owner Craig Reaves said Tuesday.
"We're going to preserve working waterfront for future generations," Reaves said. "It gives us security in the Beaufort area."
Sea Eagle will maintain about 10 boats on the docks during peak season, and one of its boats had already been using the dock to offload, Reaves said. He expects the operation to be running by mid-April or early May, with plans for the event space still to come.
The purchase ends a two-year search for a waterfront home. Sea Eagle talked to Port Royal in 2014 about the possibility of leasing the town's dock, a deal complicated by the ongoing sale of the state-owned property.
The purchase comes as Sea Eagle is in negotiations to sell its current Boundary Street location to the city of Beaufort to make way for a public park. Reaves plans to stay on Boundary Street at another location if the property sells.
Sea Eagle includes wholesale business CJ Seafood and also owns CJ Seafood Express, a small retail outfit operating in Port Royal since 2006. The family has been in the area since 1992 and in the fishing business more than half a century.
"Working waterfront is the most important part of keeping local, SC seafood available, so we are very excited about Sea Eagle Market @ Village Creek," Sea Eagle posted to Facebook on Monday. "We want to give glory to God and thanks to our community, family, and friends that have supported us faithfully."
Dopson Seafood has operated since 1975. In a Facebook post last week, the Dopsons thanked customers and said they are retiring.
Darlene Dopson said Tuesday that declining health made it difficult for the Dopsons to continue. Craig Dopson has undergone multiple back surgeries, hip surgery and suffered two heart attacks, Darlene said.
"It was time for us to retire," she said. "And they are a lot younger than we are."
Video: Interview with the Dopsons from the SC Natural Resources Conservation Service
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Update: Beaufort close to buying Sea Eagle Market, Jan. 26, 2016
This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Sea Eagle Market buys Dopson Seafood, expanding to St. Helena."