The Fish Monger

By Mr Eric Johnson

I had a conversation with the fish department manager at Wegmans in Dewitt NY once. We where talking about how the department has its highs and lows. there are times that the fish barely hits the ice and its gone. a big bag of scallops will literally disappear in a couple of hours. At other times that same bag, same quality will sit for days and eventually some will have to be thrown out. Why is this? Often it depends on the manager and how green he is. A new manager will be nervous about spending too much money to supply the department and he will not adequately stock up. Customers walk up, see a poor selection of fish, or not enough and don't buy any. This pattern causes the perfectly good fish to linger.

This pattern slows down the process. Fish is not sold, it goes bad the new manager buys less. Eventually the department starts to seriously suffer. Teh opposite to this is when a great order comes in, the customers snatch it up, then it sells out fast. This encourages the manager to buy more, and more often. The result is a fish counter full of beautiful and diverse product. Customers talk, and the word gets around, causing an even more feverish buying frenzy. The manager buys more!! What excites the customer and creates a frenzy is a beautiful counter.

When the opportunity is there, buy the fish!! Don't just buy it, tell everyone you know about it. You spreading the word adds energy of this process. We as customers need to actively be part of the marketing, having a great fish shop is something to love. The quality of your life can improve simply by having great product. Not having it sucks....

I have seen that fish dept in Dewitt sell mountains of shrimp in a day, and move through Fresh tuna faster than a sushi bar. Even sell out of the exotics like Skate wing ( looooove it), fresh sardines, and squid....

Here in Roanoke we have been devoid of good fish. Ya a couple of trucks here and there. But reliable grocery stores, or fish shops, we just have not had it. It's not my first time saying it, but Earth Fare on Franklen has been offering great product. Shrimp, Scallops, trout, monk fish, I can personally tell you have been of the highest quality. My wife and I have been eating like royalty. But... it lingers. No one else buys this great product. and the slow down hurts the supply. Please help me eat like a king buy buying it. Find recipes, try here for example!! and let's buy them out in a day. I want to keep eating like a king.