Local business hopes to be a catch for future owners
Fairview Seafood Co. putting Black Mountain location on the market
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 20, 2025
After a decade of supplying fresh seafood in Black Mountain, Roger and Debra Queen are looking for potential buyers of the Fairview Seafood Co. East State Street location. Photo by Fred McCormick
On any given weekend near downtown Black Mountain, familiar faces stroll in and out of a small wooden structure nestled along East State Street. It is a sight frequently observed in coastal communities, where fresh filets of flounder or bundles of shrimp line market shelves, but far more rare in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
A dedicated clientele of connoisseurs have followed Roger and Debra Queen to the Fairview Seafood Co., after more than a decade of offering freshly caught fish, scallops and oysters within the Swannanoa Valley, but as the couple is forced to downsize, they hope to find someone else willing to keep the unique business in the area.
The Queens began supplying fresh seafood to locals, weekly, when they moved their burgeoning operation from Mars Hill and East Asheville to the Black Mountain Tailgate Market in 2015. They were immediately impressed by the demand for their product. From there, the Buncombe County natives, opened a shop in Fairview, before launching a freestanding Black Mountain location in late 2022.
“BMT was so good to me, and I made so many friends over the seven years we were there,” Roger said. “We really love being here and engaging with this community. We have so many regular customers and we’re connected to a lot of people here, personally, so selling this business is a difficult decision we had to make.”
Roger, 73, was shoveling mud from around his Burnsville home, following Helene, when he injured his back, requiring surgery. While the couple plans to continue working together to operate their Fairview location, they are no longer able to swap shifts in the neighboring communities, according to Debra.
“We’ve been running our Fairview location for about six years, and when we opened here a few years ago, we saw this as an opportunity to have a year-round presence here,” she said. “But, with both of us needing to work at the same location, we really don’t want to see our customers here lose that option of fresh seafood, or have to drive to Fairview.”
The weekly offerings of the market feature a varied assortment of catches, ranging from Sheepshead, Chilean sea bass, mahi and grouper. The Queens meet regularly with their supplier to stock the shop with the latest haul.
“We usually have shrimp from N.C. every week, and we carry Maine lobster tail through the winter, because they are frozen,” Debra said. “We also carry crawfish tail meat, scallops, crab meet and shucked oysters.”
Debra Queen, who operates Fairview Seafood Co. with her husband Roger, prepares for the weekly arrival of fresh catches in Black Mountain. The couple, which has been selling fresh seafood in the area since 2015, is selling their East State Street operation. Photo by Fred McCormick
On any given weekend, the small shed situated on a 40-foot-by-40-foot parcel, offers as many as 18 different types of fish and various shellfish. The curation process, according to Roger, has been honed over the past decade.
“When we first started, we were just doing a few types of fish, but in large amounts,” he said. “But, over the years, we found the customers here had a wide range of favorites. People come to Black Mountain from all over, so we get a lot of positive feedback about the selection they find here.”
Another characteristic of local seafood shoppers, Roger added, is their desire to try unfamiliar filets.
“Over the years, we’ve introduced a lot of people to new things,” he said. “Just today, I got a text saying there was no halibut this weekend, but rock fish, golden tile and wahoo are all available, so some of those will likely be new to some of our customers.”
The owners maintain a mailing list, which allows them to update regular customers on what to expect each week.
“We get people from east Asheville, Swannanoa, Marion and even Morganton,” Roger said. “Black Mountain is a unique location, in that regard, because it’s accessible from all of those areas.”
While Roger and Debra are saddened to sell the business, which will continue operating until the couple finds a buyer, they recognize its “incredible potential.”
“The people here have been so good to us over the years, and so many of them rely on this place to find their favorite seafood that’s otherwise to hard to find in the mountains,” Roger said. “We’re willing to do whatever we can to make the transition easier for whoever is interested in buying the shop. Our hope is to sell it to someone who will love it as much as we do.”
For more information on Fairview Seafood Co., contact Roger Queen at 828-337-5190.