Have you ever wondered how rock shrimp became such a popular seafood product? Thirty-five years ago this small little crustacean couldn’t even be given away, never mind eaten.
Well, Rodney Thompson, the founder of Dixie Crossroads, has a very interesting story to tell about how rock shrimping all began. This is not just another fish tale!
According to Rodney…[Back in 1969, we used to be one of Titusville’s best local boat builders. One day I decided I wanted to be a “King”…King Shrimper, that is. In order to do this, we built the first fiberglass shrimp boat ever to be made in the western hemisphere. This 73-footer was a beauty, but we really had a hard time making her bank payments catching brown shrimp.
One lonely afternoon, we tied up at Port Canaveral next to the NOAA research Vessel, Oregon II. Smiling down at us, Captain Barrett looked at our empty nets and grinned, “Do you want to make a million dollars? I’ll show you how!” We were hesitant, but we were starving. The next day, in the wake of the Oregon II, we found ourselves 20 miles east of Melbourne. Down went the sample nets. After a number of “tries,” not one brown shrimp was to be found. Upon Captain Barrett’s orders, we dropped our large nets as the sun went down. After an hour of trawling, we decked over 1,000 pounds of “peanuts,” “trash” or “hardheads”…those which we all know and love as rock shrimp. As we stood there looking at the huge pile of rock shrimp, Captain Barrett’s remark was, “Captain Rodney, if you ever figure out how to sell those “peanuts,” you will sure make a lot of people happy!”
After heading the shrimp, we shipped them to fish markets throughout the country. No one would bite. I paid for the shipping costs but I couldn’t even give the rock shrimp away. Their hard shells made cleaning them too difficult. Equally daunting was the presence of a large sand vein. If you didn’t get that vein out, chewing the rock shrimp was like eating a mouth full of beach sand.
I’d bring home garbage cans full of rock shrimp after each trip and challenge family members and friends to dream up ways to serve the little delicacies. Perseverance did finally pay off. One Sunday afternoon, pondering over what to do, my daughter, Captain Laurilee, said, “If the rock shrimp taste like lobster, what would happen if we cooked them like a lobster?” She split one, buttered it and threw it under the broiler…and it, of course, was delicious.
Rodney’s underlying love for rock shrimp led him to create Dixie Crossroads. Opened on January 1, 1983 as a thirty-seat diner, Dixie Crossroads today is recognized as one of the country’s more unique restaurant experiences. Their menu is seafood at its best – not masked by sauces, pasta, or extenders – just cooked in the “Old Florida” tradition and served to you with Southern Hospitality.
Rodney and his staff would like to invite everyone to come and experience his delicious rock shrimp. To some they’re only “peanuts,” but to the Rock Shrimp King, they’re better than lobster
