A downtown Dublin restaurant added an oyster bar to its list of offerings in early March.
The oyster bar is currently open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 5 p.m. at Company Supply. According to owner Richard Mascaro, those days and hours will be expanded soon.
Right now, the restaurant offers the oysters grilled or raw. For the grilled oysters, they are offered in different flavors.
"Pimento cheese and barbecue with bacon, a standard New Orleans style, parmesan and garlic and butter," Mascaro said as he listed the options. "We're also doing a Mexican street corn with chorizo, bechamel and fire-roasted sweet corn."
He added that business at the restaurant was going steady before they opened the oyster bar, but there has definitely been a spike in interest since it opened.
Company Supply is a Rotisserie Bistro that serves.all natural food with a "Southern Spin," according to its website.
"I think any time you sell Creole, Louisiana, [and] Southern food, you should have an oyster bar," Mascaro said.
He says has been in the food industry for most of his adult life.
"I've done everything from the front of the house to the back of the house," he said. "My passion is the food side."
He has a degree in Hospitality Management from the University of South Carolina and a background as a chef and manager.
With his credentials, we thought we'd ask him about the saying: "You should only eat oysters during the 'R' months," which include September through April.
According to Mascaro, it is safe to eat them year-round.
"We're very particular about our oysters," he said. "We try to make sure we get things three to four days max of harvest."
They are also very particular about the temperatures. He says they test them with a thermometer and anything that isn't up to par gets thrown out.
Mascaro opened the restaurant back in 2015.
Company Supply is located at 107 W. Jackson Street in historic downtown Dublin and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
