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Copps Island Oysters at Knot Norm's in Norwalk, Conn., on June 2, 2021.

Steve Plant,owner/operator of Noank Oysters in Noank, Conn., holds freshly harvested oysters on June 4, 2021.

Freshly harvested oysters from Noank Oysters in Noank, Conn., on June 4, 2021.

Precious Oysters owner Rachel Precious arranges her oysters on the opening day of the Hey Stamford! Food Festival at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. 

Fresh bagged oysters at Copps Island Oysters in Norwalk, Conn., on June 2, 2021.

James Bloom stands on one an oyster boat at Copps Island Oysters in Norwalk, Conn., on June 2, 2021.

Prepared foods offered at the Copps Island Oyster store in Norwalk Conn.,, on June 2, 2021.

Copps Island Oysters at Knot Norm's in Norwalk, Conn., on June 2, 2021.

Steve Plant owner/operator of Noank Oysters in Noank, Conn., shucks a fresh oyster on June 4, 2021.

Steve Plant owner/operator of Noank Oysters in Noank, Conn., holds a freshly shucked oyster on June 4, 2021.

The next time you go out, you might be able to pair your cocktail or beer with some locally harvested fresh seafood. Mobile raw bars have been popping up at breweries, wineries and other gathering spaces in Connecticut this summer, offering freshly-shucked oysters, clams, shrimp cocktail and other specialties from the sea. 

Beth Maco of This Girl Shucks LLC, a raw bar catering service. 

Beth Maco, owner of This Girl Shucks LLC, joined Cisco Brewers at The Village for the 2022 summer season. Her raw bar booth offers fresh oysters harvested a mile offshore from Shippan Point, local clams, tiger shrimp cocktail and lobster rolls. This Girl Shucks raw bar is available every Saturday and Sunday at Cisco Brewers on the waterfront boardwalk of The Village.

Deepwater Seafood offers a pop-up raw bar at Talcott Mountain Collective in Simsbury on Thursday evenings. 

Talcott Mountain Collective, the "experience venue" at the former Tower Ridge Golf Club, features a bar, kitchen and visiting food trucks, and father-and-son owners Wallace and Tyler Ronald have brought in Avon's Deepwater Seafood for weekly Thursday night pop-up events. Deepwater serves oysters, littleneck clams and shrimp on the patio from 5 to 8 p.m., alongside live music.

"We provide the venue, and they provide the muscle and the seafood expertise," Tyler Ronald said, adding that the offering has been a hit with summer visitors.

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Saltwater Farm Vineyard announced in June that it had paired with Mystic's J&R Seafood Market for its Thursday night music series, featuring a rotating schedule of local musicians and food trucks. J&R's pop-up raw bar offers local oysters, wild-caught shrimp and more.

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Sixpenny's shellfish farm is located at the mouth of the Mystic River in Noank, and they've been appearing at local breweries like Tribus in Milford, Little House in Chester and Outer Light in Groton to host pop-up raw bars on spring and summer weekends. 

Precious Oysters owner Rachel Precious arranges her oysters on the opening day of the Hey Stamford! Food Festival at Mill River Park in Stamford, Conn. Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. 

As founder of Precious Oysters Raw Bar Catering, Rachel Precious curates raw bars for private events with local clams and oysters. She has a background as a conservation biologist and years of experience in shellfish farming. 

"As the Vice Chair of the Connecticut chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and a member of Senator Chris Murphy's Long Island Sound Advisory Committee, I aim to educate my guests on the importance of protecting Connecticut's coastal environment as they enjoy all the fresh seafood it has to offer," she wrote in an email. "I have a zero-plastic policy and almost no waste, as unopened shellfish and used shells are returned to the water."

While Precious primarily focuses on private events, she occasionally connects with local breweries like Two Roads in Stratford and New England Brewing in Woodbridge, she says. 

Norm Bloom demonstrates how to shuck an oyster at Copps Island Oysters in Norwalk, Conn., on June 2, 2021.

Norwalk's Copps Island Oysters launched a mobile truck this summer, available for parties and events. With a full kitchen, the Shuck Truck can provide a custom raw bar with freshly harvested and shucked Copps Island oysters, clams and shrimp — and you can even add on fried oysters and clams and lobster rolls, if you please. 

Copps Island is also operating an oyster shack at Brown's Marina in Stratford this summer, with a menu featuring raw bar items (oysters, clams and shrimp), cooked and fried oysters and clams, hot and cold lobster rolls, burgers and hot dogs. 

Leeanne is the food and consumer reporter for Hearst Connecticut, handling coverage of restaurant openings and closings, trends, events and general news about CT food and beverage businesses.

She's been working in Connecticut news for more than 15 years, most recently as the food and dining reporter for the Hartford Courant. A native of Worcester, Mass., she holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University.