bryan - oyster evangelist

If you’ve spent much time hanging out in the Atlanta-area over the past 20 years, you’ve likely crossed paths with Bryan Rackley. Maybe he served you a St. Bernardus at Brick Store Pub during the aughts? Or you listened to a Carbonas album that his label, Douchemaster Records, put out? Maybe he asked you how you were doing one night at Kimball House? Or you spotted his long mane behind the oyster counter shucking half shells at Watchman’s? We caught up with founder/partner of Kimball House, Watchman’s Seafood & Spirits, and the non-profit, Oyster South, to find out what makes him a ‘champion’ of his craft.

Where did you grow up and what brought you to Atlanta? 
I grew up in Valdosta. I got angsty as hell and into subversive stuff to make my parents mad. As a result, I ended up meeting a bunch of ding dongs in Atlanta punk bands. I moved up to go to Georgia State and hang out with new friends. 

You started an influential record label in Atlanta called Douchemaster, what was the journey like from being a music fan to starting the label? 
So easy. I was so deep into Atlanta punk, but I had no desire to be on stage in front of people...even though at the time there weren't that many people to play in front of. Carbonas were one of my favorites and they had written music for an LP, but their label was dragging ass on the release. One of the band members wanted to release a couple of songs as a 45. I really didn't have shit going other than work at a coffee shop, and I had $250 burning a hole in my pocket. So, I offered to help pay for the single. We pressed 200 copies but eventually went on to sell 2000 copies of that single. We then had a little money so we doubled down and released a record by another local punk band. It was never something I planned to take seriously, but I ended up releasing 49 records from bands all over the world including several by Gentleman Jesse who coincidentally is my best friend and business partner at our restaurants.

You’re on a desert island and you can take 5 albums with you, which 5 do you bring? 

1.   Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed...although I'd be pretty content with Goats Head Soup, too. 

2.   The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette

3.   Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker

4.   Some kind of Otis Redding Greatest hits album.

5.   Big Star - #1 Record

You started Kimball House and Watchmen’s with 3 of your best friends, what unique strength do each of you bring to the table? 
Miles is easy. Boy makes good f'ing cocktails. His ability to be creative and also have a good time makes him someone that others want to learn from as well. Mattie's the funniest and most likable guy you'll ever meet. He handles branding and media and is exceptionally good at balancing good taste and good humor. Jesse is great with connecting to staff. It's not that easy to do. Especially now that we are all closer to 40 than 20. The fact that he's a perpetual teenager makes him ideal for talking to millennials. 

Craziest thing you’ve witnessed since opening KH…and craziest thing since WM? 
When we first opened KH we were a little concerned that southern people were going to be disappointed with the size of most of the oysters that we were serving. Southern oyster cultures have historically leaned on much larger, wild oysters for their supply, and that wasn't something we were interested in doing. But our buddies at Hama Hama in Washington state have an oyster called a "trucker" in regards to its massive size. They were 5-6" oysters whose meat weighed just under a half pound each. We had a gentleman who was in celebrating his birthday and demanded our largest oyster. This fella ordered 4 dozen of them and paired them with the better part of a bottle of scotch. This dude ate almost 20 lbs. of raw oyster meat. Never seen anything like it before or again. Needless to say, he barfed in the garden after. 

Watchman's is still pretty new, so we have plenty of time. But I was having a bite the other night and a gentleman went to the restroom on roller blades that lit up as he rolled. It was pretty jarring for me. 

What’s the biggest misconception about oysters?  
I'm still not necessarily buying the aphrodisiac angle. I get the science behind the nutritional part of consuming high zinc foods and what it does for testosterone production. But my assumption is that people are horny after oysters because they have almost no calories. Hell of a lot easier to get it on when your blood isn't tied up in digestion. 

If you had to throw out a number, how many oysters have you consumed in your life? And what are 3 oyster memories/moments that stand out? 
Thousands. That's about as accurate as I can get. 

1.   The first raw oyster I recall eating was in PCB as a 5-year-old with my Dad. He introduced me to oysters, so I suppose I owe this weird career to him in a way. 

2.   The day I proposed to Jada in 2013, Ryan Hidinger and Ryan Smith of Staplehouse cooked dinner for us at Hidi's house. Our first course as pre-committed adults were Rappahannock oysters. That's still probably the most important meal of my life. 

3.   When we first got our lease [for Kimball House], Matt, Miles, Jesse and I ordered a bunch of Island Creek oysters and grabbed some beers and went into our would-be restaurant. We shucked and drank and dreamed about what we would do with our space. It was surreal.

What’s your involvement with Oyster South and what is the primary purpose of OS? 
I'm a founding board member. I advise and start arguments. I also put on an event with my partners called Landlocked that's our flagship fundraiser. We raise awareness and funds for regional oyster farmers. We want to see the oyster farming industry in the south succeed. 

You’ve been involved on the business side of music (DM), beer (BSP), and food (KH, WM, and OS) – three of life’s greatest pleasures – what’s one valuable lesson you’ve learned about each of these? 
The biggest thing I've learned from these experiences is that combining business and pleasure is awesome. I can't say I always love the part of work that requires staring at excel sheets, but jobs that engage your senses are rad. 

What is something that gets you rowdy? 
Fox News...but not necessarily in a good way. 

What makes you proud?
I'm proud of so much at this point, but I'm so stoked on my little boy, Gus. He's two and I'm nuts about this little dude. 

What’s something people might be surprised to know about you? 
The volume of tears the Queer Eye series on Netflix has jerked out of me.

What does Atlanta need more of? And what do we have too much of? 
Affordable housing has become an issue. The city has become so expensive for renters and people on fixed income. Since our staffs consist almost exclusively of renters, it's a constant worry that the people that want to work with us can’t afford to live in town. 

We definitely have too many of these horrible little scooters everyone is riding around on. These things are basically litter! Although I did ride one for a minute recently and it was super fun.