Captain Hank’s – On Keeping Afloat in the Face of Cost Increases

Situated on the idyllic River Fowey waterfront, commanding its own little corner of Cornish paradise, Captain Hank’s Crab & Snack Shack keep locals and tourists alike fed with some of the freshest seafood dishes taste can savour.

Having gained a TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award in 2021 acknowledging the quality and popularity of Captain Hank’s Shack, things have been on the up for the mobile seafood specialist. However, like hospitality businesses across the UK, Captain Hank’s are facing challenges when it comes to costs.

We spoke with owner Holly Foster about how they’re dealing with the cost increases they have faced and furthermore how they’re operating to still remain profitable against this worrying backdrop. Captain Hank’s is at the unique disposition of being a seasonal business and being a completely mobile one at that. On the back of Covid, Holly has observed the difference in trade she’s received and the habits of customers, local and tourists alike:

“For this year, it’s the frequency of people wanting to eat out. Locals will do it maybe once or twice a month, probably as a treat meal. On the other hand, tourists will eat out every day. Cornwall also attracts a lot of people with more disposable income; we get a lot of people that come from London and the Southeast.”

One thing at the forefront of most minds when visiting a coastal haven like Fowey is sampling the local cuisine, and as Holly points out these such holidaymakers are usually more than happy to exchange cash for crab. This visiting trade is vital to the success of Captain Hank’s:

“[The tourist trade] generates a lot of spending power for the area and locals often don’t have that same spending power. I do have a good crop of regular locals, but Fowey is a holiday town, not that many locals live here all-year round.”

So despite the picture of success that burgeoning days of summer trade can portray, life can be tough for Captain Hank’s year-round, and the stark reality of cost increases threaten even those successful months.

Holly and the team don’t want to be putting prices up anymore than customers do, but as she states “I can only go so far as I still need to make this worthwhile.”

Captain Hank’s opt for a policy of honesty and transparency with their customers, as they explain how:

“I try to break it down for customers though; the cost of my crab has gone up by 25% and the cost of Rapeseed oil has gone up 100%.”

Dealing with the scale of these cost increases is a tough ask for any business, let alone a business with such a niche and specific operating model and trading window as Captain Hank’s.

“Thankfully most people are understanding and I’ve done what I can to keep prices at a reasonable level, for example my take from the business is now a smaller percentage.”