Dinkum's Seafood
In a region surrounded by water, it seems reasonable to assume that fresh local seafood is easily accessible. On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, that hasn’t always been the case, unless you “knew somebody” or caught it yourself. Cape Charles Mayor Smitty Dize took matters into his own capable hands in 2019 when he launched Dinkum’s Seafood.
Smitty has worked the waters his whole life – owning his first crab boat at the age of 14, then working alongside his father and brother at the family’s soft shell crab business, as a merchant mariner, as Harbormaster for the town of Cape Charles and most recently as the manager of the marina, vacation rentals and C Pier restaurant/bar at The Oyster Farm at King’s Creek.
Dinkum is a nickname affectionately given to Smitty’s father, a waterman from Smith Island, where Smitty, “Dinkum, jr.”, grew up. It’s also Australian slang for “fair, honest, and true”. Everyone who knew Dinkum agrees that no man was a truer embodiment of these virtues, and his son endeavors to continue the legacy, including via the enterprise that is named after his father.
It is these qualities that are now the core values of Dinkum’s Seafood. Only true fresh seafood, sourced mainly from local purveyors at fair and honest prices. Currently, it is a pre-order and delivery business only selling what passes Smitty’s exacting quality standards. See the website for current selections or call to order.
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