Buddy's Seafood is more than just a business. It's a tribute to family
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Every morning, as Cornell Harris prepares to open up his seafood shop, the final thing he does is give a command to the automated home device that controls many of the electronics in the store. “Alexa, open the market,” he says.
The response he gets comes not from those that designed the device, rather, it comes with some inspiration from his son. “YeaYah!,” the device responds as televisions and lights pop on. “That’s something my son always said,” Harris said. “To get to hear that every morning reminds me of why we do what we do.” Harris, along with his brothers Damien and Aviston, owns and operate one of the area’s newest seafood markets, Buddy’s Seafood, named for his son, Cornell “Buddy” Harris, Jr., who suddenly passed away at the age of 18 on June 20 of this year.
Buddy, who became a fixture of the family business when it operated under the name of Harris Brothers Seafood every week at the Mooresville Farmers Market, was afflicted by many disabilities from birth, such as blindness and the inability to walk. However, he didn’t let that stop him from living a full and happy life.
“Buddy was such a symbol of strength, he never once complained about anything that was happening to him,” Harris said. “He was just such a loving kid and we wanted to incorporate that kind of love into our business.”
The business started a couple of years ago as nothing more than a stand at the farmers market in Downtown Mooresville thanks to a love of fishing cultivated amongst the Harris brothers in their younger years living in Sherrills Ford. Their grandfather, who was a farmer by trade, taught them how to fish in his spare time.
Over the years, that love of fishing turned into a business that now offers many different kinds of seafood, brought in fresh several times a week. Nearly 90% of all the fish sold in Buddy’s Seafood Market comes from the shores of North Carolina or the waters of other nearby states. “We do our best to get the freshest fish,” Harris said. “It’s very important to us.”
The transition from weekly stand to permanent storefront has been received well not only by the market’s regular customers, but also by the Mooresville community as a whole.
“People know that whenever they come in here, they’re going to get great hospitality,” Harris said. “You’ll always get a friendly smile when you walk in here … along with some great fish.”
Renaming the family business to honor Buddy was never something that was discussed by members of the family, it was one that everyone just arrived at on their own. The announcement was made on July 4 that, when the shop re-opened at their new brick and mortar storefront located at 115 Commons Drive in Mooresville, it would bear Buddy’s name.
“I wake up every morning and thank him for not only being my son, but being my inspiration,” Harris said with tears in his eyes. “I take every moment of operating this business with pride because my son was an amazing person.”
However, more tragedy would strike the Harris family just a few days later when Robert Harris, the patriarch of the family, also died suddenly. Before he passed, he was told of the plan to rename the business in honor of Buddy.
“He was so excited to get that news and so happy for us for what we had started by opening this market,” Harris said. “I get to walk in here every day and see the image of my son and my father. It’s a blessing.” Both Buddy and Robert Harris have memorials displayed prominently in the store.
However, despite owning a seafood market, the Harris family, due to the rigors of opening up a storefront, combined with the tragedies of the summer, haven’t found a lot of time recently to relax and cast a line of their own.
“We usually do a big fishing trip every year at Thanksgiving,” Harris said. “We didn’t do it this year, but it’s still in our plans.
“It will be difficult the first time without my dad and Buddy. It will be super emotional, but they wouldn’t want us to skip out on the trip. They would definitely want us to keep the tradition going.”
The response he gets comes not from those that designed the device, rather, it comes with some inspiration from his son. “YeaYah!,” the device responds as televisions and lights pop on. “That’s something my son always said,” Harris said. “To get to hear that every morning reminds me of why we do what we do.” Harris, along with his brothers Damien and Aviston, owns and operate one of the area’s newest seafood markets, Buddy’s Seafood, named for his son, Cornell “Buddy” Harris, Jr., who suddenly passed away at the age of 18 on June 20 of this year.
Buddy, who became a fixture of the family business when it operated under the name of Harris Brothers Seafood every week at the Mooresville Farmers Market, was afflicted by many disabilities from birth, such as blindness and the inability to walk. However, he didn’t let that stop him from living a full and happy life.
“Buddy was such a symbol of strength, he never once complained about anything that was happening to him,” Harris said. “He was just such a loving kid and we wanted to incorporate that kind of love into our business.”
The business started a couple of years ago as nothing more than a stand at the farmers market in Downtown Mooresville thanks to a love of fishing cultivated amongst the Harris brothers in their younger years living in Sherrills Ford. Their grandfather, who was a farmer by trade, taught them how to fish in his spare time.
Over the years, that love of fishing turned into a business that now offers many different kinds of seafood, brought in fresh several times a week. Nearly 90% of all the fish sold in Buddy’s Seafood Market comes from the shores of North Carolina or the waters of other nearby states. “We do our best to get the freshest fish,” Harris said. “It’s very important to us.”
The transition from weekly stand to permanent storefront has been received well not only by the market’s regular customers, but also by the Mooresville community as a whole.
“People know that whenever they come in here, they’re going to get great hospitality,” Harris said. “You’ll always get a friendly smile when you walk in here … along with some great fish.”
Renaming the family business to honor Buddy was never something that was discussed by members of the family, it was one that everyone just arrived at on their own. The announcement was made on July 4 that, when the shop re-opened at their new brick and mortar storefront located at 115 Commons Drive in Mooresville, it would bear Buddy’s name.
“I wake up every morning and thank him for not only being my son, but being my inspiration,” Harris said with tears in his eyes. “I take every moment of operating this business with pride because my son was an amazing person.”
However, more tragedy would strike the Harris family just a few days later when Robert Harris, the patriarch of the family, also died suddenly. Before he passed, he was told of the plan to rename the business in honor of Buddy.
“He was so excited to get that news and so happy for us for what we had started by opening this market,” Harris said. “I get to walk in here every day and see the image of my son and my father. It’s a blessing.” Both Buddy and Robert Harris have memorials displayed prominently in the store.
However, despite owning a seafood market, the Harris family, due to the rigors of opening up a storefront, combined with the tragedies of the summer, haven’t found a lot of time recently to relax and cast a line of their own.
“We usually do a big fishing trip every year at Thanksgiving,” Harris said. “We didn’t do it this year, but it’s still in our plans.
“It will be difficult the first time without my dad and Buddy. It will be super emotional, but they wouldn’t want us to skip out on the trip. They would definitely want us to keep the tradition going.”
Source: https://mooresvilletribune.com