The Seafood Shop in Wichita now sells 50% beef, will soon rebrand and change its name
The Seafood Shop — which opened in 2008 at Normandie Center at Central and Woodlawn then moved to Cambridge Market at 21st and Webb a decade later — has a new owner.
It also has a new approach, now offering the same amount of “turf” as it does “surf.”
And soon, it will also have a new name.
Dave Dreiling, who owns beef producer Booth Creek Wagyu in Manhattan, recently purchased The Seafood Shop from Evan LaRue, who two years ago bought the shop from founder Jessica Eberth. LaRue, also owns a ranch and had been using Dreiling’s Booth Creek Wagyu to process his cattle, said the store’s general manager and executive chef, Audra Bell. When LaRue decided he didn’t have time to run The Seafood Shop, he sold it to Dreiling.
“They had been looking for a space in Wichita anyway, so it was kind of a perfect fit,” Bell said.
The Seafood Shop has always sold fresh, never-frozen seafood, and it still does. But now, about half of its retail space is being taken up by Booth Creek Wagyu beef products, including steaks, roasts, ground beef, jerky, summer sausages and more.
“Nothing with our seafood is going to change,” Bell said. “It’s going to be pretty 50/50 as far as beef and seafood.”
LaRue sold beef when he owned the store, but only occasionally, Bell said. Now, the shop will be known for always stocking Booth Creek’s beef, available as 100% Wagyu or as a mix.
“It’s all done right in Manhattan,” Bell said. “They do absolutely everything as far as raising the herd and processing it, packing it and distributing it.”
After the first of the year, Bell said, the focus will be on re-branding the store, and it will get a new name. The owner hasn’t settled yet on what it might be and may even seek input from customers, Bell said.
Booth Creek Wagyu has retail shops in Manhattan and Overland Park, and those will start serving more of the seafood products that The Seafood Shop specializes in. Among the most popular items the shop ships in weekly are Scottish salmon, Chilean sea bass and ahi tuna, Bell said, though it can get about anything a customer requests.
The Seafood Shop sells more than beef and seafood, too, Bell said. It also carries cheese from Elderslie Farm, vegetables from Kan-Grow Hydro Farm and eggs from a McPherson farmer. Next year, they plan to add even more locally produced items to the shop’s shelves.
The Seafood Shop also sells prepared grab-and-go meals, including things like clam chowder, salmon and lobster pot pies, and lobster bisque, which Bell says she can’t keep in stock. And it still offers hot lunches from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday. Going forward, Bell said, she plans to alternate each week serving a beef- or seafood-focused dish on Fridays. This week, it’ll be something incorporating beef — possibly a beef stew, Bell said.
The Seafood Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Though it’s closed on Sundays, it will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve — both Sundays this year.
This story was originally published December 12, 2023 at 2:39 PM.
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