Seven miles off the south coast of Cape Cod, the Island of Martha's Vineyard has a long history of harvesting the sea. For centuries, ships have sought safety in her harbors, and hundreds of fishing vessels have called Menemsha their home port. Fishermen returning from the fabled Georges Bank arrive here first, so it's only natural that Martha's Vineyard should be where you'd find the freshest seafood at the lowest possible prices.

The Larsen family has Island roots four generations deep, and a local reputation for purveying the finest fish available. Now, keeping up with the latest techniques of shipping and refrigeration, we're proud to extend our services to the mainland, and with the same guarantee of absolute satisfaction we've always offered the lady down the street.

The entire family, led by Louie Larsen, help orchestrate the Net Result. As follows is an article published July 15, 2004 by the Martha's Vineyard Times.

Net Result catching plenty of business
July 15, 2004   By Ezra Blair

The recently completed expansion at The Net Result in Tisbury, which includes a new takeout area, more seating, and a new sushi menu, has left owner Louie Larsen swimming in business. "I'm totally surprised by the amount of business we have done. I really didn't anticipate this much when we completed the expansion this spring," Mr. Larsen said this week.

While he said he is thrilled with the success of his business, Mr. Larsen attributed much of it to luck. "I would like to say that I'm a great businessman, but in reality, it's more that I have been in the right place at the right time," he said.

In fact, Mr. Larsen has been at the same place on Beach Road for the last 19 years. Over that time he and his wife Beth have turned the fish market into a thriving year-round retail and wholesale seafood business with more than 20 employees. Among those employees are the Larsens' children, who have worked alongside their parents over the years.

Louie Larsen, owner of the Net Result, stands in front of the fish market's new takeout counter, where chef Kenny Gao prepares fresh sushi. Photo by Ralph Stewart.

Mr. Larsen said he opened the Net Result nearly two decades ago for several reasons. Family was one of them. "I grew up with a father who was a commercial fisherman, and so he wasn't around that much. I knew I wanted to be able to spend more time with my kids, but all I knew was fishing, so I decided I would start a fish market. At the time there was no year-round fish market down-Island, so I thought it would be a good idea," he said.

Mr. Larsen said it is also easier to make a living selling fish rather than catching them. "I love the water, and I love fishing, but it's hard to make a living at it. I can always find something to sell, but it's hard to be the one to catch it," he said.

Once he decided to open a fish market, it did not take Mr. Larsen long to realize his business goal. The Net Result opened its doors on July 4, 1985. Mr. Larsen said that the holiday weekend opening was one of his lucky moments.

"It was actually completely unintentional. I flew to Boston on the night of the 3rd to pick up my license, came home and opened for business the next day. It just happened to be Fourth of July, which worked out pretty well," he said.

Mr. Larsen said business started out slowly, but with word-of-mouth advertising and a little help from his fisherman father, things quickly began to pick up.

"My father was actually dragging at the time, which was helpful, because I was selling his big 25- and 30-pound lobsters. Those created some good traffic flow from people who wanted to see them," recalled Mr. Larsen.

From a walk-in fish market, it wasn't long before Mr. Larsen expanded the Net Result to include wholesale and seafood delivery. "Again, I would love to say it was my great idea, but it really was the demand that got us into wholesale. It still keeps us busy, even year-round. We actually make money in the winter, which is pretty novel," said Mr. Larsen.

While he chalks it up to luck, Mr. Larsen can certainly spot a good business opportunity. When he had the chance to buy the building next to the fish market several years ago, he jumped on the opportunity. He knew that some day he would like to combine the takeout area and the fish market into one place. Now that he has, he said he couldn't be happier.

"I really like how much more consumer-friendly the whole place is. People can come in and look at the tanks and pick out the lobsters they want. It has been great, a bit overwhelming, but really great," he said.

Along with the expansion that connected the two buildings at the end of the Tisbury Market Place, Mr. Larsen also expanded the Net Result's menu to include sushi. a move that he said has been a big hit so far.

"I think a big bonus has been the sushi. We now have two sushi chefs on site, and the feedback we've gotten on it has been really positive. There have been several sushi lovers who said it is the best they have had. It really is an art, and our chefs are great," he said.

Mr. Larsen recalled one sushi-loving customer in particular.

"We had this one guy come in, he must have bought about $500 in sushi for his yacht that he had brought in. The next day he called me to say that he has had a lot of sushi before, but that ours was the best he had ever had. That felt pretty good," said Mr. Larsen.

Mr. Larsen said the move to include the sushi and the new takeout area is all part of his plan to create "one big seafood emporium." His next goal is to expand the cooked and prepared seafood menu. "We put in an oversized kitchen to make stuff to sell. We're not really using it at this point, but there are products that caterers have asked us to make for them, and I could see expanding into the prepared food area a little bit," he said.

For now, Mr. Larsen said he is plenty busy without any more expansions. "We're just trying to keep up with it right now. It's exciting," he said.