05/10/2004
Diners at Harris Crab House on Maryland's Eastern Shore can watch crabbers and oystermen bringing in their haul as they feast on the restaurant's preparation of the daily catch. For crab house owner Karen Oertel, the watermen's activities are more than just ambiance, they're the anchor of her business.Oertel's grandfather and father were watermen on the Chesapeake, and her parents founded both the crab house and WH Harris Seafood Inc., a seafood processing plant still in operation next door.
Today Oertel owns the businesses with her husband, Art Oertel, and brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Pat Harris (her nephew Michael Harris manages the restaurant). The processing plant -- the original business, which has been in operation for 60 years -- ships oysters and crabs all across the United States and Canada, and the restaurant, which began operating off the front of the old processing house, now has its own waterfront space with seating for 450.
"Fifty years ago, the businesses in this area were primarily processing houses and watermen. Then the marine industry moved in," Oertel notes. "Then, in the '60s, tourism became a focus." That change, she says, was key both to her businesses' development and to development along the Chesapeake Bay -- and for her businesses to continue to survive, preservation of the ever-developing Bay Area is critical.
"The Chesapeake Bay affects every business in Maryland, and it affects our quality of life," she says.
A seventh generation Bay Area resident, Oertel is active with groups working to protect the Chesapeake -- and, by extension, the local economy. That's how she got involved with NFIB.
"I'm a business person, and I believe in getting involved with business groups that protect us," she says. "You can't assume the government understands the challenges we face. Our elected officials need help understanding."
Oertel appreciates the support NFIB offers its members -- in addition to its own lobbying efforts -- which empowers members to be grassroots activists.
"Business needs to get serious," she says. "Maryland has been a tough state. They just don't get it in Annapolis."
Oertel cites excessive government regulation as a key challenge to her business's prosperity, whether it's compliance with FDA and Health Department rules or striving to preserve job opportunities for young people in the face of increasing wage rates.
"Small business provides jobs for our citizens. The small-business economy is the life breath of America," she says. "I believe in economics, entrepreneurs and this country, and I believe in doing what we need to do to protect them."
