Tomales Bay Oyster Company

Tomales Bay Oyster Company
	Tomales Bay Oyster Company
Company type	Private
Industry	Oyster farming
Founded	1909; 115 years ago in Marshall, California, United States
Products	Oysters

Tomales Bay Oyster Company (also called TBOC) is an oyster farm in Marshall, California in the United States. It is located on California State Route 1 and is the oldest continuously run oyster farm in California.^[1]

History

TBOC was founded in 1909, making it the oldest continuously ran oyster farm in California.^[1]^[2] TBOC was co-owned by Tod Friend.^[3] (1947-2017) TBOC is currently owned and operated by Cathryn Irving and Heidi Gregory.^[4] TBOC sells two types of Pacific oysters in various sizes, and customers must take them away and shuck their own oysters.

The farm has so many visitors that the parking lot often overflows onto Highway One, causing traffic congestion. The parking has been described as "chaotic" by the North Bay Bohemian.^[3] They were in litigation with the California Coastal Commission regarding the farm's popularity, which the state says has increased beyond the capacity of its original permit allowance. The original permit, acquired in 1987, allows for Friday through Sunday retail sales and only eight employees. Starting in 2012, TBOC was providing retail sales seven days a week and had over eight employees.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b True, Margo (August 2, 2007). "Bountiful Tomales Bay". California. Sunset. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
^ "Tomales Bay Oyster Company". Travel Guide - Marshall. Travel + Leisure. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gogola, Tom (August 15, 2019). "Highway to Shell". Bohemian. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
^ Houston, Will (August 17, 2022). "Century-old Tomales Bay oyster farm sanctioned by coastal commission". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 18, 2023.