The Trap owner bids farewell to loyal customers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After eight years in business, the owner of The Trap announced Aug. 10 will be the seafood window’s last day in business.
Chef Oya Woodruff opened her popular walk-up eatery on the corner of Keystone and 34th Street.
“Eight years ago, we didn’t have all these seafood places that are open now,” Woodruff said. “They call me ‘The Trap Mother.’ I was the first one to really do that.”
Over the past decade, Woodruff developed a following of customers willing to wait in the hot sun for fresh crab legs, lobster tail, and delicious marinades.
Damon Bland, a loyal customer, said you have to get to The Trap early or all the food may be gone.
“I get off early,” Bland said. “I be one of the first up here. Beat everybody up here. I order first, and then sometimes, I miss out on her. She doesn’t have any food out, and I’m like ‘Aww man.’”
Woodruff opened The Trap with the goal of filling a void on the east side of affordable, fresh, and healthy food.
“One of our things is feeding people, whether or not they can afford it,” Woodruff said.
Balancing a business during tough economic times and being a single mom hasn’t been easy for Woodruff. She’s moving on to a new chapter in her life as a high school nutrition and culinary arts teacher.
“I would love to share my passion with the culinary business and food with a new generation of people who are interested in doing the same work,” Woodruff said.
Although The Trap may be going away, her famous trap sauces and special ” Trap Buttah” will be available for purchase at Cleo’s Bodega in Indianapolis. She hopes to distribute them to more stores in the future.
“People are going to miss us, and we’re definitely going to miss everybody else too, but there’s always a time for something to come to an end, and when we do come back, we’ll come back bigger and better,” Woodruff said.
Woodruff said she may have a pop-up store in the future, where she will sell more of her seafood.
Woodruff is encouraging customers to support her all the way up to her last day in business for her employees.