This is Small Business Weekly, a recurring feature in which we’ll spotlight a small, independently owned business in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Got a business you think we should check out? Drop us a line at desk[at]bethesdanow[dot]com.
This is Missy Carr’s major expansion.
The L’Academie de Cuisine graduate was among the first to open a Montgomery County food truck when she opened Go Fish in 2011.
In a few years, her seafood truck built up a following in Bethesda. In 2012, it was named Bethesda’s best food truck by readers of Bethesda Magazine.
But a lack of parking, the threat of parking tickets and opposition from brick-and-mortar restaurants meant Carr rarely actually made it to downtown Bethesda, instead opting for weekly events hosted by office property owners, catering gigs and outdoor markets.
Now, with a relatively cheap spot in the Bethesda Farm Women’s Cooperative Market, Carr is hoping to better establish her business.
“This is a good foothold for me, because it’s so hard to get in Bethesda,” said Carr, who opened the stand in the market on Friday. “Everybody wants to be in Bethesda, but there’s nowhere to go. So when this opportunity came up, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a good chance to get my brand out there and some more of our stuff.’”
Having a more permanent landing spot is especially important to Carr, who hopes to go back to offering fresh seafood on a regular basis. It’s the kind of business that relies on regular customers, which are harder to come by if your business is always on the move.
“The problem with fresh fish, when you have a product like that, people want to know where you are,” Carr said. “You have regular customers. They come to this place and they know on a Saturday for instance they’re going to get my product. We were always mobile.”
Go Fish was the second food truck in Montgomery County, Carr said. The first, Sub Urban Bros, has since called it quits. The Go Fish food truck will continue. Carr has help to keep it going on days when she’s at the market.
Go Fish and the market are open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
With start-up costs of a few thousand dollars, the opening at the Market is serving as a next step of sorts. Carr said she’s not quite at the level to move her crab cakes, mahi mahi fish tacos and lobster rolls to a permanent brick-and-mortar, though she has glanced at building vacancies.
“Having a place where people can count on to come and know we’re going to be here three days a week is a big opportunity for me,” Carr said.
Previously featured in Small Business Weekly: Simon Plant Care | Urban Country | Cera Wax Studio | Sports Extra | Gallery St. Elmo
