The first thing you notice at Gay’s Seafood on North Washington Street in Easton isn’t the smell of Old Bay or the briny sweetness of oysters on ice. It’s the sound.
The phone trills on the counter. A cooler door slams. A steady stream of customers comes and goes. And somewhere in the mix, Rennie Gay’s Eastern Shore twang calls out orders, jokes with regulars, and answers hunters eager to book their next goose or deer excursion.
The place hums like a symphony, and Rennie is its maestro. With no sheet music, no baton, he somehow keeps time, directing the flow of customers, watermen, and phone calls with the rhythm of a man who has been at this his whole life.
“I was too old and too broke to quit work,” Rennie says with a sly smile, recalling why he took the plunge after selling his Port Street location and reopening as a seafood market and deli. “When I sold the other place, I had to do something. It was do this or die, my daughter said. And I enjoy the people—you gotta like people.”
A Family Tradition
For more than a century, Gay’s Seafood has been a fixture in Talbot County, supplying generations of Eastern Shore families with crabs, oysters, and fresh fish.
While his beloved grandfather worked on the water, Rennie envisioned a future selling seafood. He went to the bank, secured a line of credit, and started his business on Port Street where he stayed until he sold the property a couple of years ago.
Now, Gay’s Seafood & Deli has a new home on North Washington Street in Easton, in the former Old Mill Deli, which sat vacant for more than a year. Both Rennie and his customers have welcomed the change.
“My location now, I think, is as good as any,” Rennie says with satisfaction.
“Back in the day, I was the only man in town selling crabs,” he explains. “Then everybody started in the crab business, and I went from the only location to the worst location because when you left wherever you were to come to get crabs, you were coming just to get crabs.”
The new location at the corner of Washington Street and the Parkway is much more visible, and the move included an expansion into prepared foods when Rennie’s sister-in-law Suzanne agreed to join the team.
“Now, you get off work, stop and get a pound of shrimp, a dozen crabs, and a sandwich, or something going to work in the morning,” Rennie notes. “It worked out just fine.”
The Honest Market
The foundation for Gay’s Seafood & Deli is honesty. It always has been. And Rennie’s brand of straight talk, delivered with a twinkle in his eye and a touch of grit, has earned him a loyal following.
“If you’re planning a crab feast, and I sell you a bushel of crabs that aren’t just right, I’ve embarrassed you in front of your friends,” Rennie says. “That’s the worst thing I can do.
“If your crabs aren’t good, I’ve made you look stupid in front of your friends—and you’ll never come back,” he continues. “That’s worse than losing a sale. If I tell you up front what they are, you may not be happy, but at least I haven’t lied to you.”
This philosophy has kept customers coming back, even as competition has grown. Everybody knows you can trust Rennie’s word.
He’s also proud to introduce customers to fish they might not otherwise try. “I had a woman in here taste blue catfish for the first time,” Rennie recalls. “Next day she was back asking for three pounds. People said the same thing about snakehead. Nobody wanted it. Call it the ‘Chesapeake Channa,’ and now everybody wants it.”
Humor and Hard Truths
When you sit down with Rennie, you don’t just hear about seafood. You hear about life, straight, no chaser.
He’ll tell you about the heartbreak of losing his grandson, the grind of keeping a small business alive, and the joy of watching a customer drive away with a bushel of local crabs.
And he’ll do it in the kind of unvarnished, colorful language that has made Gay’s Seafood as much a gathering place as a seafood market.
On the price of crabs: “Crabs are a game. The crabbers say they’re not getting enough money. The buyers say the crabs aren’t good enough or they’re too high. No matter what you do, you’re going to catch hell.”
On hunting gear: “If it ain’t rubber, it ain’t waterproof. I don’t care what brand it is. You stand there long enough in the rain, you’re going to get wet.”
On work: “It takes the sting out of it when you get some money for what you’re doing.”
The laughter that follows is as much a part of Gay’s Seafood as the scent of steamed crabs.
More Than a Market
The reimagined Gay’s Seafood & Deli is more than a market. It’s a mirror of Rennie himself—tough, funny, honest, and rooted in a way of life that defines the Eastern Shore. Customers don’t just stop in for a pound of shrimp or a dozen crabs. They come for Rennie’s stories, his no-nonsense take on life, and his deep care for the community.
By late afternoon, the phone still rings, and customers still pop in for food or fellowship. Rennie moves through it all with ease, equal parts businessman, storyteller, and neighbor.
And like the maestro he is, Rennie Gay makes sure every note—from the sweetness of crabmeat to the laughter at the counter—lands just right.
Read more about Talbot County’s seafood leaders here.
About Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism
The Talbot County Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s mission is to enhance and promote a business-friendly environment for current and prospective enterprises and to advocate for policies that support and strengthen the economic vitality of Talbot County. The department’s vision for Talbot County is built on the principles of strong communities, empowered businesses, and innovative solutions.
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