Long-Form Stories Sand Dollars

Have Fried Clams Become A Luxury Item?

Fried clams
Written by Brian Tarcy

CAPE COD – Market price. Two words on a menu that strike fear into the wallets of customers.

And here on Cape Cod, those words are frequently associated with fried clams, the must-have menu item for a certain type of Cape Cod restaurant. In fact, clams have become so expensive in the past couple of years that some restaurant owners fear the iconic tourist meal is becoming a luxury item.



“You know how you buy oysters by the piece?” asked John Ohman, owner of Liam’s at Nauset Beach. “I am envisioning a day when people are buying fried clams by the piece.”

“It’s not imminent,” said Ohman. “But directionality means a lot. It’s like, tick, tick, tick. I’ve noticed it for three years.” And as prices continue to go up, Ohman said, “What do you do, charge someone $35 for a clam dinner? It’s almost embarrassing.”

Mike Lewis, owner of Seafood Sam’s in Falmouth, said fried clams by the piece “wouldn’t surprise me.”

“You know how you buy oysters by the piece? I am envisioning a day when people are buying fried clams by the piece.”  – John Ohman, owner of Liam’s at Nauset Beach

“I don’t know if they would get that expensive,” said Aaron Brochu, owner of Big Rock Oyster Company of Harwich. “But restaurants are going to have to start putting them at market price. The price does fluctuate a lot between now and the height of summer.”

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About the author

Brian Tarcy

Brian Tarcy is co-founder of Cape Cod Wave. He is a longtime journalist who has written for the Boston Globe, Boston magazine, the Cape Cod Times and several other publications. He is the author of "YOU CAN'T SELL RIGHT FIELD; A Cape Cod Novel." He is also the author or co-author of more than a dozen mostly non-fiction books, including books with celebrity athletes Cam Neely, Tom Glavine and Joe Theisman. His previous book was, "ALMOST: 12 Electric Months Chasing A Silicon Valley Dream" with Hap Klopp,who created the iconic brand, The North Face.
For more information, see Briantarcy.com
Brian is a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan with a long-running NFL predictions/political satire column connecting weekly world events to the fate of his favorite team, now at Whatsgonnahappen.com.

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