Our Story – Graham & Rollins Seafood

Our story begins in the early 1920s in a small waterfront area known as Messick in Poquoson, Virginia. William Alexander Graham, a hardworking waterman, began crabbing in 1923 to support his family. Tragically, William passed away at a young age. His son, John Benjamin Graham, stepped in to carry on his father's legacy, founding the Messick Crab Company.

With a growing business and an eye on the future, John B. Graham developed a land-based seafood operation and invited his brother-in-law, Dixie Rollins, to join him. Together, they formed Graham & Rollins.

In the 1940s and early ’50s, the company operated out of Poquoson, but it quickly became clear that neighboring Hampton, Virginia—then home to over 13 crab companies—was the heart of the industry. With greater infrastructure, ferry access to Cape Charles and Baltimore, and a growing workforce, Hampton was the logical next step.

In 1953, Graham & Rollins relocated to the Hampton waterfront, where they experienced steady growth. But in 1973, tragedy struck: John B. Graham was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away just two weeks later. Dixie Rollins followed five months later after his own cancer diagnosis. With both founders gone in the same year, the company faced a moment that would have ended many family businesses.

John B. Graham Jr.—the only son of John B. Graham Sr.—was a highly successful engineer at NASA and just a year away from full tenure. He and his wife, Sandy, were raising three children. Despite his promising career, John Jr. left NASA in 1973 to return to Hampton and take the reins of the family business.

Bringing an engineering mind to the seafood world, John Jr. invented machinery that improved crab picking and claw meat extraction. Under his leadership, the business expanded from one plant to four by the early 1990s.

He also invited his cousin, Jim Casey, from Chicago to help guide the growing company. Meanwhile, John Jr. and Sandy raised their children—Terri, Johnny, and Casey—all of whom eventually earned college degrees and joined the family business.

In 1988, Graham & Rollins purchased its Bassette Street facility, outfitted to process, steam, and pick blue crabs. A year later, it expanded to include a Seafood Market and Restaurant, which still serves as a community staple today.

By 2001, due to dramatic changes in the crab industry, crab processing at Bassette Street ceased. The business continued to adapt to ongoing regulatory challenges—including pot limits, dredging bans, and sanctuary expansions—that began in 1995 and continued for over a decade.

These industry-wide restrictions caused a loss of labor and disrupted year-round operations. To remain viable, Graham & Rollins had to consolidate from four plants to three, and eventually to two.

In 1992, the company began using the H-2B guest worker program to address labor shortages. While initially manageable, the program has since become increasingly burdensome, expensive, and unreliable—forcing the company to face new challenges almost every year.

Expanding Beyond the Bay

Faced with resource limitations, labor shortages, and regulatory hurdles, Graham & Rollins made a strategic decision to form a partnership in Colombia, South America. The region shares the same species of blue crab found in the Chesapeake Bay. This partnership allowed the company to continue supplying high-quality crab meat to its wholesale customers year-round.

The Graham family trained their Colombian partners on every aspect of catching, processing, and picking crab meat to the same exacting standards set in Virginia.

This international partnership also laid the foundation for a major business breakthrough: in 2007, Graham & Rollins launched its line of crab cakes on QVC. These products quickly became customer favorites, winning numerous awards and introducing signature items like the Crustacean Sensation—a blend of crab and lobster.

Graham & Rollins Today

Today, our operations include:

·       Rudd Lane Facility (Hampton, VA) – Our original processing plant, where we pick domestic Chesapeake Bay blue crab meat and produce value-added seafood products.

·       Bassette Street Facility (Hampton, VA) – Home to our retail business - Hampton Seafood Market & Restaurant, as well as our direct-to-consumer shipping operation via www.grahamandrollins.com.

·       Colombia, South America – A vital international partnership that helps us maintain consistent supply despite the unpredictability of domestic labor and resource issues.

In two of the past seven years, we were unable to secure any seasonal workers for the Rudd Lane facility. Without our Colombia operation, we simply wouldn’t have been able to meet demand. It has become a critical lifeline for our business.

A Legacy of Generations

If you’ve made it this far, we hope you feel the dedication behind every crab we pick and every product we make. Our great-grandfather started this journey almost 100 years ago, working the waters of Virginia to support his family.

Whether you buy our domestic crab meat, enjoy our signature crab cakes, stop by our Hampton market and restaurant, or shop online—we want to say:

Thank you.

From our family to yours,

Terri Graham
Casey Graham
Johnny Graham