Some area restaurants are substituting imported shrimp for Gulf shrimp and are thinking about dropping oysters from the menu as the Gulf oil spill is starting to hurt supplies and lead to higher prices.
Cedar River Seafood will not change menu prices as a result of increased costs but might drop oysters if the prices go too high, said Curtis Fellows, general manager and part owner of the two Gainesville restaurants.
"We had to do that when Hurricane Katrina hit. We couldn't serve them for about six months," he said.
Cedar River still is getting oysters from the Gulf as many oyster beds remain open, but the costs are up and Fellows anticipates further increases. That will hurt "a little bit" as the restaurants hold menu prices on 100-200 pounds of oysters a week.
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