Manufacturing
The Hama Hama Co. Has Made the Oyster Its World
The pearl of the Hama Hama Co. is its Hood Canal oyster farm
By Bill Conroy August 20, 2019
This article originally appeared in the August 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This story appears in the August 2019 issue and is presented by Impact Washington. Click here for a free subscription.
The Hama Hama Co. is located at the confluence of the Hamma Hamma River and Hood Canal on Washingtons Olympic Peninsula, where it harvests fresh oysters and clams. The shellfish are sold directly to consumers and chefs across the country and through its farm store in Lilliwaup where it also operates the Oyster Saloon, featuring fresh oysters, clams and cold beer. The company, which employs some 30 people, was founded in 1922 but its roots date back to the 1890s, when Daniel Miller Robbins purchased timberland along Hood Canal. Bart Robbins took over the logging company in the 1950s and branched into the oyster business. Today, the company is still a family-run venture. In addition to farming shellfish and trees, Hama Hama grows kelp and grass-fed beef, mills lumber, hosts culinary events and educational tours, and distributes oysters in the Puget Sound region for a network of small shellfish farms.
