Culinary artist casts net, finds his catch in Crestline

Between about 9 and 11 a.m. most days, Garrett Osburn can be found at the Crestline Piggly Wiggly, waiting for a shipment of fresh seafood.

Whether it’s red snapper, grouper or even lionfish, the seafood counter at the Pig offers fare that is 100 percent fresh — never frozen.

“I try to have as little back in the back as possible, that way everything stays nice and fresh,” Osburn said.

Originally from Lake City, Florida, Osburn’s family was in the beef and pork butchery business, so his involvement in the culinary arts started early.

“That’s where my love for food started,” he said.

Professionally he began working with food in 2009 when he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando.

In 2013, after Osburn had made his way to Birmingham, he began working at Ocean, starting as a line cook and quickly being promoted to sous chef.

He said at Ocean, which is located in downtown Birmingham and has won numerous awards, he was able to hone his craft as both a chef and a leader with chef and owner George Reis.

Known for tough schedules and high stress, Osburn said eventually he realized that the restaurant life wasn’t really for him.

“I left and got out of the business for almost a year and a half,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mountain Brook community was in a grocery shopping crisis.

In the summer of 2013, the Crestline Piggly Wiggly announced it would close its doors after 30 years, and residents turned out by the thousands to protest, petition and beg the store to stay open.

Executive Director of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce Suzan Doidge said the reaction was so strong, she even had friends in other states who had heard about how upset some residents were about the store closing.

But the Pig, she said, is more than just a place to buy food.

“It’s not a grocery store; it’s a gathering place,” she said.

In the three years between the original store’s closing and the reopening in June 2016, owner Andy Virciglio said he and his team wanted to hone in on what the Pig’s loyal customers valued about the store.

“From square one we wanted to put an emphasis on the perimeter of our store,” he said, referring to the areas of the store such as the deli, produce section and seafood counter.

Those fresh items, Virciglio said, were what they hoped would set the store apart.

“The Virciglios went above and beyond to make that store right for the community,” Doidge said.

Instead of just recreating the Piggly Wiggly of the past, Virciglio said he wanted to tailor the store’s offerings to include more fresh and healthy options.

“When we got enough of a footprint here, our main focus was to put the added departments for this community,” he said. 

And that is when Osburn joined the team.

“We were very fortunate to come across Garrett, who was in a transition time in his life, and we were able to hire him,” Virciglio said.

Not every store puts an emphasis on seafood, he said, not even every Piggly Wiggly.

“Seafood is not something everybody does,” he said, adding, “because most customers are apprehensive about buying seafood unless they know it’s fresh.”

And Osburn brought a knowledge of how to buy the freshest fish available, and how to get it brought in efficiently.

Osburn said when he was approached by Virciglio and the Pig team, he was excited about the opportunity because he was “itching” to get back into a role that included working with food, but not necessarily in the kitchen lifestyle.

“I was more than happy to come on and build a program with them,” he said.

Popular items Osburn generally has on hand include oysters, scallops, tuna, Gulf Coast shrimp and snapper, salmon and a host of other options, depending on what’s in season. But Osburn said that each day is generally different, because he not only wants to sell what is fresh, but also provide unique options for the community.

“We try to keep something where folks can always try something different,” he said.

To help bring people in and let them know what’s available, Osburn began posting on Facebook, which he said has helped him bring in more customers and encourage them to investigate the Pig’s seafood options.

“Word of mouth has helped me out a lot,” he said.

Elisabeth Lyman, a Mountain Brook resident and major supporter of the Pig, said she loves that Osburn always has something new to offer.

“One of my favorite things I love about the seafood department,” Lyman said, “is you never know what he is going to be serving or featuring that day until you walk into the Pig.”  

“I also have been known to change my family’s dinner menu on a whim because Garrett will get some sort of amazing fresh seafood in that day that I am just dying to try,” she added.

Lyman said she was already looking forward to the improved seafood options at the new Pig, but that when she met Osburn she realized that he wasn’t the typical fishmonger.

She said when the new Pig first opened, she asked him if he would be getting in any Copper River salmon. He responded by being entirely honest, she said, and telling her that according to his sources, the quality of the salmon wasn’t up to his standards, so he wouldn’t be bringing any in.

“It was at that moment that I gained an amazing respect for Garrett and his knowledge for his craft,” she said.

Lyman said she is also a major fan of the “G’s Specials,”–the housemade crab cakes, lobster rolls, boudin and more Osburn makes each day as an added offering at the counter.

“Garrett is not just a seafood aficionado, but a wonderful chef in his own right,” she said.

Osburn said his training at culinary school and particularly at Ocean provided him with the skills to not only buy and butcher the best fish possible, but also to educate customers on the best way to cook it.

“I just enjoy what I do,” he said, “and being able to bring this product to the customers and educate them, and even educate them on the cooking process, I just like the whole aspect of it.”

Virciglio said that customers have taken notice.

“The feedback on Garrett has been tremendous,” he said. “He’s been great for us, he really has.”

And as the Pig enters its second year at the new location, both Virciglio and Osburn encouraged the community to visit if they haven’t yet had the chance — but especially to check out the seafood counter.

“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Osburn said.