As an interactive alternative to a stationary raw bar, Oysters XO sends its servers through a crowd equipped with buckets of oysters on ice hanging from their waists, shucking oysters on the spot. The servers also wear containers of various sauces and buckets for empty shells.
Founded by Dutch art dealer and entrepreneur Rifko Meier and originally launched in Amsterdam, Oysters XO and its concept recently came to New York City and the Hamptons and is planning to expand to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Mexico City next year. Meier suggests that clients serve up Beau Soleil oysters, but he says servers have also doled out Kumamoto, Miyagi, and local Blue Point varieties.
The male and female servers typically wear shucking gloves and custom-designed white aprons accented with red-checkered cloths at events, but the company can also accommodate requests for special uniforms. “We have an upcoming event for which we are dressing the Oyster Girls and Oyster Guys in a Roaring Twenties dress code complete with flapper dresses for the girls and straw boat hats for the guys," Meier says. The cost varies according to the event, and Oysters XO has been known to donate its services to charity events.
