Interviewers: Rien Fertel and Jim Gossen
Location: Prestige Oysters, 103 1st St, San Leon, Texas 77539
This interview is a production of Foodways Texas as part of the Greater Houston Oyster Trail.
In 1976, Johnny Halili immigrated from the mountains of Kosovo to Chicago penniless, unable to speak English, and having never spent time on the open sea. Within decades, he would become the largest holder of oyster leases along the Gulf Coast.
He started off shrimping in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. He moved to Texas City, started working on oyster boats as a deck hand, and eventually, with his wife Lisa, bought his own boat and oyster beds. Today he is gradually transitioning the Prestige Oysters brand to his son, Raz Halili.
