WS Chronicle

According to the National Restaurant Association, about 60% of restaurants fail within the first year of opening, and 80% fail within five years of opening. While those numbers are daunting, there are some exceptions to the rule. This year Forsyth Seafood will celebrate its 40th anniversary.  

Although they both had professional careers at the time, Charles and Virginia Hardesty had dreams of owning their own business and when the opportunity came, they took it.  

“We had this urge to start a business. We were going to seminars and different things, trying to figure out what to do,” Virginia Hardesty said.  

“Then at some point we were in our basement one day and we just decided to go with seafood. We were both from the coast and both our dads were commercial fishermen, so it was kinda in our blood.”  

After making a name for themselves by bringing fresh shrimp from the coast, in the summer of 1984 the Hardestys took a leap of faith and purchased the Forsyth Seafood name and business from a local business owner who was looking to sell. “First, we brought up shrimp from the coast to sell at the farmers market, and while we were out there a guy who had a fish market called Forsyth Seafood approached us. … him and his wife were looking to get out of the business, so we bought it from him,” said Virginia Hardesty while discussing the start of the business.  

Because they both had earned college degrees and had established themselves in their careers, Hardesty said they were hesitant to tell their family that they were quitting and opening a fish market. When CharlesHardesty quit his job after buying Forsyth Seafood in the ‘80s, they waited a month before telling anyone in their hometowns. A few years later, Mrs. Hardesty quit her job as well. At the time she had secured a successful career as a business forecaster and other high-ranking positions with AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Western Electric.  

“They didn’t understand but I think when they came up from the coast, they were proud, but it took them a while,” she continued. “I mean they were afraid because every day is different. You could’ve done really well last week, but this week you have to get up and do it all over again… but we had to follow our dream.”   

The first Forsyth Seafood location was on Liberty Street and in 1991 the business moved to its current location on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. After the move, cooked fish was added to the menu, in addition to fresh fish, shrimp and other items they already offered. In the ‘90s the Hardestys also opened a restaurant on Broad Street and during this time, Forsyth Seafood started to become one of the city’s most popular restaurants. The Hardestys began to build relationships with customers and families that still exist today. For many people in the community, a Friday night isn’t a Friday night without a stop by Forsyth Seafood.  

The success of Forsyth Seafood hasn’t come without its challenges. In the early 2000s the restaurant on Broad Street was torn down to make room for Truist Stadium. While dealing with the passing of Mr. Hardesty on his 60th birthday a few years later, the family found themselves battling the N.C. Department of Transportation in the courtroom. The widening of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive threatened to take away most of Forsyth Seafood’s parking space. After battling the changes for months, the Hardestys decided instead to purchase surrounding lots and expand.  

“We’ve seen a lot of things, a lot of changes, a lot of challenges, but with God’s help we’ve been able to push through it,” Virginia Hardesty said. 

In addition to winning awards for their food, Forsyth Seafood has employed tens of thousands of people over the years, including thousands of students from Winston-Salem State University and those who live right there in the East Winston community.  

One of the reasons why restaurants don’t have longevity is because oftentimes owners don’t have anyone to past the restaurant on to, and once they decide to retire or take a step back, there’s no one there to continue the legacy. Fortunately for the fans of Forsyth Seafood, Ashley Hardesty-Armstrong has accepted the challenge of keeping the legacy alive.  

“I think we’re blessed to have a legacy, and we have Ashley involved with the business because a lot of businesses don’t have that,” Hardesty said. “It’s always good to have Ashley’s perspective because she has that fresh new look at things.” 

Ashley said growing up she didn’t want anything to do with business, so much so that she didn’t even eat fish. “I was here all the time, so my schoolbooks and book bag would smell like seafood, so I was like, I don’t want anything to do with this,” she said.   

Shortly after graduating from N.C. State with her BS in Fashion Textile Management and Brand Management, Ashley stared using her marketing eye to change some of the signage in the restaurant. And from there her involvement has just continued to grow 

In addition to helping move the business into the digital age by creating a social media presence and offering online ordering and delivery, Ashley has since earned a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales and has helped make changes to the menu and other offerings as well. She was also behind the decision for the Forsyth Seafood food truck, which was purchased right before the start of the pandemic in 2019. Hardesty-Armstrong said her decision to go to culinary school helped her see the potential in the family business.  

For her work at Forsyth Seafood and founding of The Table Experience, a farm-to-table dinner party company specializing in organic meals and nutritional education, in 2018 Hardesty-Armstrong was awarded the Young Professional Award at The Chronicle’s 33rd Annual Community Service Awards.  

“Going to culinary school and doing internships at a James Beard-nominated restaurant just opened my eyes to the  possibilities. That was a family-owned restaurant, so I thought if they can do it, we can do it too,” she said. “I was very focused in school. I was the oldest of all my colleagues, I was 28 at the time everybody else was like 17, 18, 19, but I was just laser-focused on learning as much as possible so I could come back and help my mom.” 

When asked what the next decade holds for Forsyth Seafood, more locations, new concepts, new items on the menu, and a product line in grocery stores, are all on the list. 

“We have lots of things planned. That’s what you have to do = to make a plan, then focus on getting a few things done at a time,” Virginia Hardesty said.  “I think that’s part of what has kept us around for so long, having the ability to change with the times.”