Saltwater South: Forgotten Coast
From May 2021 to January 2022, I interviewed twenty people who work or worked in commercially harvested seafood and oyster aquaculture along Florida’s Forgotten Coast. The designated area spans roughly ninety-five miles of coastline, beginning at Mexico Beach and ending at St. Marks, Florida. The length of the coast includes portions of Bay, Gulf, Franklin, and Wakulla counties. The Forgotten Coast includes two bays in the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola and Apalachee Bays. They are deeply connected both ecologically and economically.
Meet the Narrators
Jody Houck
Jody Houck was born in 1961 and raised in Bedford, Ohio. When she was six years old, her family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Houck’s father, Dallas, worked for Florida Power, and he was also a master diver. To augment his income as a lineman, he would dive for lobster. Growing up, Jody and her brother spent much time on the beach and along the Indian River. They would often go diving with their father. Houck graduated from Florida State with a bachelor’s degree and from Florida Institute of Technology with a master’s degree. She eventually became an engineer and worked on government projects in Alexandria, Virginia.
Jody and her husband, Dewey, decided to retire early and move to Gadsden County, Florida to be closer to their family. Growing up along the Indian River, Jody had seen the effects of environmental pollution throughout her life. Jody wanted to farm fish. With more research, she realized that oyster farming was a more sustainable aquaculture practice. The Houcks obtained an oyster farm lease in Oyster Bay and began farming in 2019. In May 2021, they bought the Spring Creek restaurant and marina from Leo Lovel, its longtime owner. Jody and Dewey are committed to rebuilding the community ethic of Spring Creek. They farm oysters under their label, Cypress Creek Oyster Company, and sell their oysters to purveyors throughout the South.
Cainnon Gregg
Cainnon Gregg, born in 1985, was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Gregg grew up with an interest in art. When he graduated from high school, he worked for a faux finisher in Jacksonville while touring with his punk band across the Southeast. In 2007, Gregg began working as an artist for Urban Outfitters in Charleston, South Carolina. A promotion moved Gregg to Atlanta, Georgia. While there, he happened to build tables for a new restaurant called Kimball House. When the restaurant opened, Gregg visited often, sampling oysters from all over the United States. He was intrigued by the bivalves. Both Gregg and his wife Kiki, both Florida natives, decided to move back to Tallahassee.
In 2017, Gregg was laid off from when his artist position at Urban Outfitters was eliminated. He continued to manage the Tallahassee location. He decided to pursue oyster aquaculture. In 2018, Gregg quit his job and became a full-time oyster farmer. Two months later, Hurricane Michael hit Florida’s Gulf Coast and damaged his oyster lease. Gregg worked construction jobs until he got more oysters to plant. By early 2020, his farm was producing marketable oysters again. Gregg works alongside Jody and Dewey Houck, oyster farmers at the former Spring Creek Restaurant in Spring Creek, Florida. He sells his salty bird oysters to restaurants throughout the South.
Leo Lovel
Leo Lovel, born in 1951, was raised in Tallahassee, Florida. As a young man, his family owned a cottage on Shell Point, a beach along Apalachee Bay near Spring Creek. Lovel fished there. He and his wife Mary Jane often visited the nearby Spring Creek Restaurant. Lovel originally sold paint for a living. When he learned that the restaurant was for sale in the late 1970s, he decided to buy it. In 1977, Lovel, his parents, and his grandmother bought the restaurant together. From the beginning, the whole family was involved in the business. Lovel’s mother, Mrs. Carolyn, cooked and served family recipes. His father, Mr. Ben, managed the restaurant.
Lovel became a commercial fisherman. He fished for mullet, shrimp, and off shore fish like amberjack and cobia. He supplied the restaurant with freshly caught fish every day. Patrons from Tallahassee, South Georgia, and Alabama made their way to Spring Creek Restaurant. Fishing regulations like Florida’s 1995 Net Ban constitutional amendment hampered Lovel’s ability to make a living commercially fishing. After the Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018, the Lovel family permanently closed their restaurant. Though he sold the restaurant and its surrounding properties to oyster farmers Jody and Dewey Houck in 2021, Lovel still maintains an important presence as a culture bearer in Spring Creek. He is the author of Spring Creek Chronicles and Spring Creek Chronicles II.
Cutler Edwards
Cutler Edwards was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1975. Originally from Leon County, his parents returned to Florida when Edwards was in second grade. They bought the Spring Creek Stop, a small convenience store, in Spring Creek, Florida. Mullet fishermen, shrimpers, and oystermen who made their living on the surrounding bay frequented their shop. His father often settled tabs by bartering for freshly caught mullet, cobia, or shrimp. Spring Creek was a formative place for Edwards. He and his brothers spent much of their time outside, and Edwards’ first job was bussing tables at the Spring Creek Restaurant owned by the Lovel family.
After he graduated from high school in 1993, Edwards left Spring Creek. He and his wife Marilyn decided to move back to Florida from southern California in 2016. The couple relocated to Apalachicola, and Edwards became a marketing specialist for a property management company on St. George Island. In 2019, he became manager for the renovation of the historic Gibson Inn. Edwards’ personal life experiences growing up in Spring Creek impact his approach to tourism, development, and hospitality.
Special Thanks
Leo Lovel
Writer, Commercial Fisherman, and former owner of Spring Creek Restaurant.
Adrian Morris
Cypress Point Oyster Company
oyster farmer
Jody & Dewey Houck
Co-founders of Cypress Point Oyster Company
Connor Whitfield
Cypress Point Oyster Company
oyster farmer
Cainnon Gregg
Founder of Pelican Oyster Company
Matt Michalski
Cypress Point Oyster Company
oyster farmer