Pop-Up Picks is an occasional series in The Post and Courier’s Food Section that previews an upcoming pop-up breakfast, lunch or dinner and the chefs behind it.
JAMES ISLAND — On the right, just before the sign welcoming beachgoers to Folly Beach, a gravel lot fills up at lunchtime on a recent Saturday. Some are casting a line off a small fishing pier, while others watch from tables on the boardwalk.
As Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” echoes over the speakers, fishing spectators tuck into shrimp tacos, clam strips and shark bites, one of the day’s specials at the Crosby’s Fish & Shrimp Co. food truck.
One of the area’s preeminent fish purveyors, the truck’s landlord, Crosby’s Fish & Shrimp, opened its retail operation on James Island in 1973. That year, Captain Horace Crosby left his job in law enforcement. He decided to buy the 2223 Folly Road property on James Island.
Fish burrito
Fifteen years later, Ellie Berry and her twin sister, Joanie Cooksey, took over Crosby’s from their father. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo took down most of the original building, but the docks withstood the storm. Family members helped clean up the debris and get Crosby’s rebuilt and reopened.
Today, it’s home to a retail market serving everything from halibut to king mackerel, tilefish and black sea bass. On the weekends, patrons can stop by for prepared foods, too, made inside the market’s food truck.
The truck started keeping regular hours in 2017. After reopening Feb. 29, it will serve from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday for the next several months.
The truck’s cooks aren’t reinventing the culinary wheel, instead relying on the freshness of the fish to shine through.
After years of being parked at Crosby’s Fish & Shrimp, the retailer's truck started keeping regular hours in 2017. After reopening Feb. 29, it will serve from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday for the next several months.
The 2024 menu features tacos, ceviche, sandwiches (fried fish, crab cake and bologna), hot dogs, hushpuppies, and burritos with grilled fish and tomatoes, Sriracha mayonnaise, avocado crema and melty cheddar cheese.
The food is good and made better by the scenery: water, marsh and boats that surround the truck. After all, there are fewer waterfront eateries in the Charleston area than most assume. The number of quality ones is in the single digits.
Count the food truck at Crosby’s among them.
Parker Milner
