Lauren Ellis & John Kelly. Photo by Dani Fresh.
John B. Kelly is all about fresh fish.
You can find his fare at JB Kelly’s Seafood Connection at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg and at the Central Market in Lancaster. In March, he added another location to his growing portfolio—Red Raven Surf and Turf, a 1,200-square-foot market located in Dauphin on Peters Mountain Road.
Lauren Ellis, John’s business partner of 10 years, provided a rundown of available items, which includes fresh fish and a variety of seafood, such as oysters, clams, mussels and shrimp.
“We sell a variety of fish, all sustainable, mostly wild-caught,” she said. “Although a few items are aquaculture, they are all sourced responsibly.”.
Much of the seafood is bought during frequent trips to Maine.
“We travel there about six times a year and buy direct,” Kelly said. “The weeks we don’t drive there, we pick up our products in Philly. We’re really interconnected with the wharf fishermen, and we’ve gotten to know them.”
And seafood isn’t the only thing on the menu. Honey, eggs, mushrooms, baked goods and spices from Bowmansdale-based Calicutts are also available at the new shop
Catching a Business
Kelly got into the seafood game rather by accident. Years ago, he embarked upon a lone, pre-fatherhood trip with nothing but a canoe, a backpack and fishing equipment. A dart thrown at an atlas decided his fate.
He ended up in mid-coastal Maine and met some curious fisherman interested in the nomadic Pennsylvanian who was out on a lark. He struck up conversations with the friendly folks, tasted their catches and was so impressed that he returned again, this time hauling coolers along to satisfy the requests of family and friends.
“Eventually, I had to buy a trailer to keep up with demand,” he said.
This sparked an idea, as Kelly, then a schoolteacher, saw an opportunity not only to return frequently to the area but to make a business of it. So, he bid farewell to education and assumed the role of small businessman and passionate fishmonger.
By winter of 2014, he had opened a stand in the Broad Street Market and, soon, was doing a brisk business. In 2017, he added another stand, this time at Lancaster’s Central Market.
Kelly reports that his business was doing well—until the pandemic hit.
“We’ve been down about 50% since then,” he said.
Then, last July, came the Broad Street Market fire, which certainly didn’t help matters, as his stand was located in the charred—and still shuttered—brick building.
“It’s a time of transition, which is why I decided that it was also time to move into a brick-and-mortar in Dauphin,” he said.
John Kelly. Photo by Dani Fresh.
So Fresh
Jackie Imhoff travels from Hummelstown to Harrisburg to shop at the JB Kelly Seafood stand in the Broad Street Market, now relocated across the courtyard to the stone building, which escaped the fire.
“What’s most important to our family is consistency, and John’s stand is the biggest reason why we frequent the market,” Imhoff said.
They eat Kelly’s seafood two to three times a week and depend on him to research what’s best. Two favorites, according to Imhoff, are Arctic char and steelhead trout.
John Baker is another loyal customer. He’s been visiting the stand at the Lancaster Central Market for the past five years.
“Customer service is great,” he said. “Whatever they can do to help, or fill requests, they do.”
What inspired Baker to shop with Kelly was the goal of healthy eating.
“We decided to try to start by adding a little more salmon to our diet, which we weren’t really fond of until we purchased it from Kelly,” Baker said. “It was transcendent.”
The experience inspired the couple to add Arctic char and haddock to the mix.
Catherine Wert’s reason for patronizing the new Red Raven was because she’s been disappointed with the seafood she’s purchased at other places.
“Kelly’s products are so fresh, unlike the seafood at the grocery stores, which is frozen and then thawed,” she said.
The new shop is also convenient for the Wert family.
“My husband works in Grantville and passes the shop every day,” she said.
The couple’s favorites are red snapper, shrimp and oysters.
“He will serve them on the half shell to you right there and also serves clam chowder,” she said. “There’s a small bar there where you can eat it.”
For now, Kelly is happy to focus on his three locations, but that’s not to say he won’t add a fourth.
“We’re thinking about another shop in Gratz because we see the need for some fresh seafood in that area too,” he said. “But we have to make sure we do well in the next two years, before we get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Red Raven Surf and Turf is located at 982 Peters Mountain Rd., Dauphin. For more information, visit www.jbkellyseafoodconnection.com.
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