A business that is all about seafood is about to go in front of the sharks.
Topsail Steamer, a North Carolina-based, at-home seafood steam pot company with a store in Ship Bottom, will be featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank” on Friday, Oct. 25.
The show, which premiered in 2009 and is now in its 16th season, invites entrepreneurs to pitch their products and businesses to investors and, if all goes well, land a deal.
“Something I’d been hearing from my customers for years and years was ‘we loves this idea, you should be on ‘Shark Tank,’ ” said Topsail Steamer founder Danielle Mahon, a former New Jerseyan who now calls North Carolina home. “I just decided in January … let me go on and apply. Maybe I keep hearing it for a reason.”
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Her company, which opened in North Carolina in 2017 and now has 10 stores between there, New Jersey, Delaware, Alabama and Florida, sells take-home steam pots filled with fresh seafood and spices.
Customers can choose from scallops, oysters, clams, shrimp, snow crab, lobster tails, andouille sausage and kielbasa, plus corn, potatoes and seasonings, then take their pot home to cook. Each order comes with brown paper for covering dining room tables, so home cooks can dump out their finished pot and dig in.
Besides Ship Bottom, other New Jersey locations include Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Wildwood, which are owned by Mahon’s family members.
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After applying online, Mahon — whose business venture followed a career in biotech sales — kept moving through the application process before eventually being selected to film in Culver City, California.
“It is a very long process,” she said. “We were fortunate enough to just keep making it to the next step, and all along the way, you never know if you’re going to get to go film.”
On camera, Mahon pitched Topsail Steamers to Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary, plus guest Shark Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.
She had 90 seconds to sell her idea, which included pouring out a pot of seafood on set.
“It was definitely a nerve-wracking experience, lots of nerves,” Mahon said. “You only get one chance to do your pitch. There are no do-overs.”
The Sharks, she said, were “really great. They’re super conversational. It really is just entrepreneurs who really enjoy giving other entrepreneurs a chance.
“It was very exciting, and what an experience. An incredible experience,” Mahon said. “Regardless of the results of the night, we’re super excited to have the opportunity to introduce Topsail Steamer nationwide.”
