Northern Neck Meets Northern Virginia At Four Seasons Seafood

Samantha Bartram

Staff Writer

It's now a lot easier to find fresh seafood in Leesburg. Four Seasons Seafood is up and running out of a small space in Plum Grove Cyclery on Market Street in the town's East Village area.

The operation has roots stretching back three generations, when owner and operator Gloria Headley's grandfather made his living one oyster at a time.

"My grandfather worked on the water. He'd go out on a little skiff with what they called nippers-long wooden-handled scissor-like things some 20 feet long with metal prongs on the end of the shafts. When you got oysters up with that you could only pick up one at a time-so back then it was very tedious work," Headley said.

As the years wore on, Headley's father took over the business, selling oysters from his car.

"My father shucked oysters by hand, and he sold them from the back of his car. He would sit on an overturned basket and have a big washing tub on the ground in front of him. The oysters would be in there-he had a little shuckin' block that he would balance and he would sit there and shuck with two pans close by, one with water that he'd dip the shucked ouster in, then he would drop it in the dinner pan," Headley recalled.

"I would sit opposite him as a child-I'd get a basket when I was 6 or 8 years old, and I would shuck 10 or 12 oysters. To me it was a big deal."

When Headley's father died, Headley carried on the business, first buying oysters from her brother, who also worked the Bay, and selling them to her father's loyal customers. Headley and her husband Everett finally were able to capitalize on her family's formidable operation, opening the James E. Headley Oyster Company in Virginia's Northern Neck in 1980.

Now, acting on the encouragement of her daughter Diana, Headley has opened Four Seasons Seafood, filling a gap in Leesburg's retail sector.

"We thought at different times over the years of getting into retail, but we always put it on the back burner. This past summer the bug got me, and especially talking to Diana, my daughter who lives in Waterford, she'd tell us it was hard to find good local seafood in the area. That made us check into this, and so here I am," Headley said.

Headley drives some three hours from her home on Virginia's east coast each weekend to greet her growing customer base, offering everything from crab cakes, to shrimp, scallops, fresh fish and, of course, oysters. "I love the customers coming in. Some are repeat customers already and the encouragement from them is fantastic," Headley said.

Headley recommends her trademark oysters, clams in the shell, fresh fish and whatever else she's trafficked in this time of year.

"I recommend it all. I do have the homemade crab cakes, crab salad and crab cheese ball-I make them all myself."

Headley's favorite item is the crab salad. "I love crab cakes but the crab salad is quick, easy and it's a great appetizer. I serve it up all the time, for any occasion," she said.

Four Seasons will remain in Plum Grove at least through the end of December, giving Headley and her husband time to find a permanent location in the downtown area. Until then, the shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Those wishing to place special orders may contact Headley at her operation in Callao at 804-761-0674.

Headley plans to announce special hours in preparation for the Christmas holiday soon, though she and Everett haven't quite ironed out the details yet. In the meantime, Headley is enjoying getting to know her newest batch of fans and proudly watching the latest extension of her family business flourish.

"I love the downtown [Leesburg] area. I think we're filling a need-I see potential here for success."