Owner of Port Royal bait shop throwing anniversary party
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
PORT ROYAL
“I think food brings people together and makes people happy, which, in turn, makes me happy.”
It really is that simple for Isis Nunez. The 36-year-old owner of Sea Sea’s Honey Hole Bait & Tackle in Port Royal is celebrating the third anniversary of the opening of her shop with what else? A fish fry.
The Miami-born Nunez might not have seen a bait and tackle shop in her future. She joined the U.S. Army at 21, served five years as a military police officer and was deployed to Afghanistan. She separated in 2016, and a job interview brought her to MCAS Beaufort, where she worked several years as a civilian military police officer.
She came to the Lowcountry for employment, but Beaufort is where Nunez discovered she had fishing in her blood.
“I learned how to fish locally here in South Carolina and became really intrigued by it,” she said. “I enjoyed it very much and would fish about every weekend.”
She didn’t know at the time that fishing, in a different way, would soon dominate her weekdays, as well.
The building at 901 8th Street in Port Royal had previously housed another bait and tackle store before 2022, when Nunez saw the building was for sale. She knew it was the perfect opportunity.
“I immediately made a move,” Nunez said. “I know how valuable fishing is here in Beaufort and I really believed this was a great opportunity. Fishing is good all year long here. My goal was to become the best bait and tackle shop, locally, and I’ve done a pretty good job at it so far.”
While things are going great right now, a three-year-anniversary party for Sea Sea’s was not always a foregone conclusion.
Right off the bat, several neighbors opposed Nunez’ on-premise beer license. Their objections cost her thousands of dollars in legal fees and months of delays for a hearing. Beer sales during the shop’s first year were a big loss for Nunez.
Then issues with a rival business gave Nunez problems for several more months. And then there was the first winter.
“The winter time is very hard for me though, still, as the fishing slows down drastically,” she said, which is strange to me, too, because the fishing is so good during this time. I think people are just not interested in being cold.”
Hurricane Helene wasn’t kind to Sea Sea’s either.
“There was a time after Hurricane Helene when the Sands Boat Ramp and fishing pier was closed due to damage,” Nunez said. “This closure really affected my business because a lot of fishermen use that boat ramp. The severe cold winter prior to that hurricane also caused a dent into the business. I didn’t think I was going to get through those months honestly.”
But even through the tough times at Sea Sea’s, there’s been one constant during the first three years – the food.
When she was younger, Nunez learned to cook from her abuelita (grandmother), her Cuban father’s mother. Before Sea Sea’s opened, Nunez knew she wanted to incorporate her love of food and installed a small kitchen in the bait shop.
“My food has become a very popular thing around here, and I am pretty proud of myself,” she said.
Very popular, indeed.
In addition to the live minnows, shrimp, mullet and fiddlers the shop sells each day for bait, Nunez prepares burritos for breakfast and tacos for lunch, as well as sandwiches, and you have to follow the shop on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/seaseashoneyhole) to get the day’s menu. But you better get there on time, because they don’t last long.
She has been featured twice on the Savannah foodie show “Eat It & Like It.” Her Cuban sandwich has been featured in a local magazine. Local troubadour Campfire Tyler, who will of course be performing at the fish fry, even has a video about Sea Sea’s.
And the customers keep coming back.
“My food has made so many people happy,” she said. “I have regulars that come in every single Friday and Saturday, which to me feels like an honor. I’ve learned their names, their families’ names, what they do, where they are from. These regulars in a sense have become my friends and part of the bait shop.”
And with the shop on firm footing, Nunez said she feels she’s making an impact on the community by building relationships, and for her, that’s rewarding.
“I love making close relationships with customers both locally and from out of town,” she said. “With the help of [YouTubers BeaufortSCFishing and High Adventure Videos], my business name has reached hundreds of thousands of people across the country. I will have many customers come visit the shop from many states up North and on the West coast. Having a charter captain – Capt. Tim Deckard with Castaway Charters — as one of my closest friends has also helped me reach many local fishermen in the community.”
If Nunez has learned a lesson from her first three years running Sea Sea’s Honey Hole, it’s an old standard – hard work pays off. But you have to keep doing it.
“The biggest thing I have learned is that you have to be better today than you were yesterday,” she said. “There will be many mistakes made along the way, but you have to overcome these mistakes and move on. You have to always give 100% in everything you do and you can’t be lazy about your business.”
The fish fry – Nunez throws an anniversary party every year — starts at 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 9, and runs until 8 p.m. Plates are $20 for adults, $13 for kids. Campfire Tyler will provide the musical entertainment.
“I have always been known to throw parties for almost any event. I like making small achievements a big deal and I love making food,” she said. “As I stated earlier, it’s a good opportunity to bring people together and help me celebrate my business. This is always a way to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped me along the way.”
Want to Go?
Who: Sea Sea’s Honey Hole Bait & Tackle
What: 3rd Anniversary Party/Fish Fry
When: 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 9
Where: Sea Sea’s Honey Hole Bait & Tackle, 901 8th Street, Port Royal
More info: Plates cost $20 for adults, $13 for kids. Reserve a plate by calling Sea Sea’s Honey Hole at 843-379-2018 or sponsor Cast Away Charters at 843-592-1062 or by emailing tim@castawaycharter.com. Live music provided by Campfire Tyler.
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
