Paramedic changes trades, starts stuffed quahog business

When Cole Pike, a paramedic of 16 years, prepared to retire from the service, he didn’t know what would come next. 

“I got a little worried what I was going to do in my next chapter of life,” Pike said. 

Now, Pike has started a business making and selling stuffed quahogs, a business he calls CoHogs.

Pike retired out on disability after spending 10 years as a paramedic with the Town of Wareham and six with the Kingston Fire Department. He started catching quahogs when a neighbor introduced him to the sport. 

He found it a form of therapy, he said.

“I was looking for something. When my anxiety and irritability started acting up, I would go out and quahog,” he said. 

Pike started making stuffed quahogs off a family recipe. The reception he got from family and friends convinced him to make a business out of it. 

CoHogs sells wholesale to several restaurants, and Pike attends festivals and farmers markets as well, including this weekend’s upcoming Wareham Oyster Festival. It’s a family business as well, as Pike’s daughter does all the social media aspects of the business. For more information, see the business’ Facebook page, CoHogs. 

“This is like a new chapter in my life I’m looking to take off with,” he said.