Kerian Fennelly and his wife, Kristin, have always been one step ahead.

After seemingly falling into the oyster farming business nearly a decade ago when they began growing riptide oysters in the Westport River, the Fennellys find themselves once again on the cutting edge with the opening of Westport Sea Farms, an oyster tasting room located at their company, Bay Breeze’s, headquarters at 2065 Main Road in Westport Point.

The idea was born out of necessity, when after two successful summers, Revolution Lobster opted not to renew their lease with the Fennellys at Lees Wharf. As the relatively new owners of the wharf, the Fennellys needed to quickly make a plan to keep their business going. After briefly considering going back to Kerian’s roots as a lobsterman and selling lobster rolls, Kristin saw an opportunity to represent their business in a new way.

“Kristin and I love going to wineries. You’re excited, you want to learn something about the wines you’re trying, you’re relaxed. We decided to recreate that atmosphere,” said Mr. Fennelly.

In August, Westport Sea Farms will open its doors to the public, offering a formal tasting of their three different oyster varieties— the original riptide, taber point and beach plume, as well as another local farmer’s spindrift — paired with locally-made beer or wine. Patrons will be provided a sheet where they can jot down their thoughts while hearing the story behind each type of unique oyster.   

“I want to be able to highlight crew members and farmers and allow people to hear different perspectives,” said Mr. Fennelly.

The Fennellys not only want to help others identify the specific qualities that make up each type of oyster, but also help the community understand how this venture in aquaculture benefits the overall quality of the river.

“One adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, taking out all of that algae and allowing more light to penetrate through,” said Mr. Fennelly. “It really does help the habitat.”

It’s a passion they want to be able to share with the whole family. With three young girls of their own, it was important for the couple to also include kid-friendly activities, including a designated “kid’s corner,” filled with books and toys as well as offering chocolates made from molds shaped like their own oysters. A “schuck-your-own” station and boat tours to their riptide and beach plume farms will hopefully come later.

“We don’t like being house-bound, so we wanted this to be a place for families to relax,” Mr. Fennelly said.

With two bars available for tastings and an additional one for full-service ordering, it will be the first time customers are able to purchase oysters directly from Bay Breeze. Until the opening of Westport Sea Farms, fans of the company’s oysters were forced to travel to Boston, or enjoy them from local establishments such as Revolution Lobster.

“People would come up to the boat all the time and ask, ‘how do I buy this?’ ” Mr. Fennelly said. With such heavy regulations in place by the Department of Public Health in order to keep consumers safe, though, “I couldn’t in good conscious just give a person a bag of oysters.”

Now, the Fennellys are looking forward to having people enjoy their oysters right in Westport Point as they unwind and watch the sun set over the wharf. They’re waiting on their last permits until they can officially open, but even once they have the final OK, the couple have no plans of announcing a grand opening or scheduling any big events, preferring to, as Mr. Fennelly puts it, “sort of just open.”

“It is intimidating. There is this intense pressure when you do this sort of thing,” he admits.

Despite his nerves, Mr. Fennelly is confident that opening Westport Sea Farms will work and be good for the community. Though the road to get here has been long and occasionally controversial, he assures that the couple are in this business for the long haul.

“Never in a million years did I think I would own a 47-foot boat and operate an oyster farm,” he joked. “But I love my job, and I’ve been very fortunate.”