Our Oyster
Slow growing, cold water, Atlantic Oyster, farmed in Robinhood Cove on Georgetown Island.
Twice a day the flood tide refreshes their palates with salty cold water rushing into the head of Robinhood Cove from the Atlantic — and twice a day the ebb tide washes over them with an abundance of nutrients drawn from the warmer shallow waters of the food factory marsh at the cove’s bottom.
Our oysters live closer to the marsh end, giving them a distinctively sweet taste.
For both oysters and their farmers, life is good on the Hood.
We fly our oysters day after harvest to your restaurant, home, or office via UPS
Species
Crassostrea virginica aka Eastern Oyster,
Atlantic Oyster, American Oyster
Size
2.5” to 3”
Flavor
Briny start (which can be adjusted to taste by pouring out some liquor) with a very sweet finish (which you cannot, and would not, want to adjust)
Cultivation
3-4 years in floating cages
Shell
Hard, nicely cupped thanks to frequent tumbling
Availability
Year round – No problem in winter as our cove is ice-free; and no problem throughout summer as our water remains very cold
Aw Shucks
We love our customers and appreciate all the wonderful feedback they share!
Your oysters were delicious. They were very fresh. I am highly recommending them to my friends. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, I'm giving them a 10. I am not kidding. They were some of the most fresh and tasty oysters I have eaten.
Matt Hintz – Davenport, Iowa
My Dad just called and he is loving them! He has never had such sweet oysters and he is a big fan! Even my mom who doesn’t like them tried one and thought they were good! Nothing like she ever had tasted before! So kudos!
Kelly – Portland, Maine
Love is an understatement. These are my favorite now for sure. Better than I remember having as a kid when we would visit family in Maine. We have ordered from a few shippers in the past, and your product and service surpass them all.
PAM – Hancock, Wisconsin
About
Eros is a true salt water farm – we live with our oysters on Robinhood Cove, Georgetown Island, Maine. Three generations work the farm.
“The farm for boys to grow up on is one where seagulls bring the dawn.”
U-Pik
Come pick out your own!
Fresh out of Robinhood Cove!
Think self-service roadside farm stand – but on the water. Every morning at the start of our day, we fill a crate with fresh oysters of various size and tie it to our float. Your job is to get here (by boat or car), pull the crate up onto the float, select the oysters that speak to you, bag ‘em, push the crate back into the drink, and make payment at the kiosk at the top of the ramp (Venmo, cash, or check). You can also buy a shucking knife at the kiosk if needed). Enjoy!
If coming by boat, tie up alongside the string of floats wherever you can find space, and then walk up the ramp to the kiosk for a bag and instructions. If coming by car, park anywhere you can find space by the barn (bottom of the hill) and make the short walk to the waterfront where you will find the kiosk.
If you need a shucking knife, you will find them for sale at the kiosk.
DIRECTIONS BY LAND:
145 Heald Rd. Georgetown
From Route 1, take 127 south for about 7 miles. Turn left onto Heald Rd. and follow the blue Eros signs.
DIRECTIONS BY SEA:
Coming from Goose Rocks Passage / Robinhood/Derektor Marina, head south for about 2 miles on Robinhood Cove. Leave Birch Island to port and then look to the western shore for our waterfront complex (floats, boats, equipment, floating oyster cages).
Tour the Farm
Activities
At a minimum, you ‘re going to want some oysters. You can drop by unannounced and help yourself from a U-Pik crate of Eros alongside our float. Instructions are posted on a tree near the pier – can’t miss it. If you want a guided tour of the farm, you have two choices, again by land or by sea. The land tour is 90 minutes and the boat tour is 2 hours. These are scheduled tours for which you can purchase tickets by selecting the “Book Now” button below.
Directions
If you’re coming by land, drive to the very end of our dirt road (Heald Rd.) about a mile off Route 127 in Georgetown. Park at the bottom of the hill, near the two barns. Look for the signs.
If coming by water, we’re on the west side of Robinhood Cove between Birch Island and Little Phoebe Island (N, W). You can tie up to one of the floats on the north end of the string.
If you need assistance try calling Mike at (207) 751-7956 or Mark (207) 318-5866.
“Your fence, on one side at least, shuts out no neighbor – you may climb it and keep going if you have a boat and the strength to raise a sail.”
“What’s in a name?
This oyster by any other name would taste as sweet.”
Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet by W. Shakespeare (with apologies)
You may be curious about the name (and pronunciation) of our oyster…
Oysters have a reputation for being an aphrodisiac.
EROS is the Greek god of passionate love. We are passionate about our oyster.
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, is Eros’ mother. She was born at sea and carried to shore in an oyster shell (Botticelli got it wrong with his depiction of her arrival in a scallop shell – artistic license). You will love our oyster.
Eros is an archer who intervenes in the life of mortals by smiting them with bonds of love via arrows (homonym for EROS). You will be smitten.
Our growing area, which gives our oyster such a sweet taste is Robinhood Cove (arrows once again). The Cove was named by the original English settlers after the local Indian chief (more arrows) who sold them the island and cove for some pumpkins. The settlers nicknamed him Robinhood, perhaps because they couldn’t remember or pronounce his Abenaki name, Mowhotiwormet. EROS is easy to remember and pronounce (say “arrows”).
Finally, the original Abenaki name for our island is Eros ca hagen which means “good place for oyster farm”. Well, not quite. It translates as “good place for spearfishing”, and the same environmental conditions (nutrients, protection) make it a sweet spot for our oyster.
From our family to yours. Enjoy!
The Gaffneys
