This story first appeared on HaltonHillsToday July 4.
If you’ve ever walked through a local parking lot and caught an unexpected whiff of the ocean, don’t be alarmed - you might have just come across Jody Oram’s mobile fishmonger trailer.
Oram is the owner and operator of Jiggin’ Jody’s Seafood, selling frozen seafood including scallops, lobster, shrimp and all sorts of fish, with a majority of it coming from Newfoundland.
“It’s from the crisp, clean, cold waters of the Atlantic man,” Oram said on why Newfoundland’s seafood is the best.
Newfoundland is Oram’s home, evident by his thick east coast accent, and his wife still lives there in the central part of the province. Oram splits his time between here and there, although he acknowledged he doesn’t get out that way as much as he used to, being busy with his seafood trailer.
With his father involved since the late ‘70s, Oram said he grew up in the fish business and his father back home in Newfoundland helps him ship the seafood to him in Ontario.
It all started on the side of his other business moving furniture, cars and anything else back and forth from Newfoundland to places like Ontario.
“I decided to take a freezer and I brought some crab to try,” Oram said, because he would be there for a few days. “I posted on Facebook and then people started coming. Next time I brought more stuff and more stuff and then I said, ‘OK, I see a real potential here for seafood in Ontario.’”
Now he’s been doing this full-time for nearly four years in the area, picking here because he has family nearby.
Oram with his branded trailer can often be found at various parking lots in Acton, Fergus, Arthur, Milton and Orangeville.
Previously, he was subleasing a store in Hillsburgh, but had to move along when another business took over the whole building. He has a permanent hut at the Orangeville Canadian Tire he operates out of a few days a week, but sees a benefit to being able to move his business around through the trailer.
“The great thing about the mobile thing I found is that it is a great way to test the local market to see if there’s a potential there for a possible store,” Oram said.
He has some interest in a more permanent location, but acknowledged finding the right space has been tough. His mobile operation gives him time to figure out where might be best.
He thinks people have been drawn to his business because he has products not found at typical grocery stores and he’s positive people trust him to provide the best seafood around.
“When someone comes in here and listens to me talk and I said, ‘That cod fillet is from Newfoundland,’ they know for sure that cod fillet is from Newfoundland,” Oram said.
“I got the accent and it is good product and I believe in what I’m saying.”
Check out the Jiggin' Jody's Seafood Facebook page for further details on when he'll be in Acton.
