Texas Shrimp: A Way of Life

Regina Garcia Peña, founder of Philly Seafood in Palacios, Texas When 81-year-old Edward "Lalo" Garcia Sr. stands on the dock of Palacios Bay every morning and inhales the salty, damp air of the Texas coast, a lifetime of achievement and hard work floods his memory. Garcia began oystering when he was 13 and bought his first shrimping boat in 1955, which according to the Garcia family made him the first Hispanic in Texas to purchase his own shrimp boat. As Garcia's fleet grew over the next 15 years, so did his family. He and his wife, Antonia, had 13 children, most of whom are today in the Texas shrimp business. The Garcia family is the largest shrimping family in the nation, with 35 operating boats, 37 Gulf freezer trawlers and four shrimp houses. "My father was a Depression baby with a third-grade education," said daughter Regina Garcia Peña, founder of Philly Seafood. "He sold newspapers for two cents a day during World War II, but he worked hard, and I am proud to say that he built his business because of his work ethic and belief in the product he was catching." Peña attributes her own success to her family and the pride and encouragement passed down through the generations. Peña founded Philly Seafood in Palacios with her brother, Kenneth, in 2002 and began selling her signature brown headless Gulf shrimp to restaurants out of the back of her Suburban. "I didn't know anything about selling shrimp," Peña recalled. "But I knew we had a great, quality roduct that buyers and restaurants would want." Philly Seafood, named after Peña's late son, is now one of the largest wholesalers of Gulf shrimp,with more than $8 million in annual sales. Peña distributes to large retailers and restaurants all over the country. "I know every business has a bottom line, but I would ask people to consider the whole package," Peña said. "Texas shrimp isn't just an all-natural product grown in pristine Gulf waters; it's a way of life."

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