Rags To Fishes

Fresh Catch Netting the seafood market: a fishmonger’s story

By Christy Hinko

If there was ever a small business success story, it is unfolding right before our eyes on Willis Avenue in Roslyn. Roslyn Seafood Gourmet has made steady strides for more than 19 years at its unassuming location on Willis Avenue. Shop owner Gerry Vera is poised to take his business to the next level with a dining expansion, which many customers are clamoring for. .

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Clams and muscles kept fresh on ice. (Photos by Alex Nuñez)

Peruvian-style ceviche with fish, lime, peppers and onions.

A selection of wild-caught fish fillets.

More than 20 years ago, Vera arrived as a jobless immigrant from Ecuador.

“How I got started in the business, it’s funny because a friend of mine used to work in one of the Second Avenue fish markets,” Vera says. “I did not have a job when I arrived [in New York from Ecuador] and he said, ‘We need someone to keep the store nice and clean,’ so with nothing to lose, I accepted.”

As Vera spent time working in the fish market, he saw what some of the other workers were doing, cleaning and preparing the fish and platters and doing the kitchen work. He found his attention was always captured by what was happening in the kitchen at the market.

“The owner of the market saw me one day and said, ‘You know, Gerry, you look like you are really interested in what is happening in the kitchen; I want to put you in there’,” Vera says. “I started at the bottom and learned little by little. Now, 20 years later, I own my own store.”

The jury is out for most people about the controversies over eating farmed or wild fish, but the department of health encourages people to eat two fish meals per week. Fish is an important part of a healthy, balanced diet.

“What makes my store different from most other seafood markets is that I only sell wild-caught fish,” Vera says. “People come to my store specifically because of my wild-caught selection and because of the overall quality of my product; the wild salmon and gray sole are some of my top sellers.”

Salmon is particularly a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids because it stores a lot of oils in its muscles. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults and promote healthy vision and brain development in infants. Wild-caught and farm-raised salmon both have low levels of mercury, PCBs and other contaminants. “Customers regularly come to my store from Bayshore, Dix Hills, Manhattan, Port Washington,” Vera says. “One customer told me last week, ‘Gerry, I pass three fish stores on my way to your place; your fish is the best,’ and I know that is because of the quality.”

Vera said the key to his product being known for its quality and freshness are the sources. Where a fishmonger buys his product will determine if the fish is already a week or two old. He puts extra work into buying only the freshest product, even if it means buying directly from ocean-based suppliers as far away as Miami.

“You want to know how fresh my fish is,” Vera asks. “My store doesn’t smell like fish; good, quality fish doesn’t smell.”

He buys just what he sells several times a week and never more. Even the oldest, couple-of-days-old fish being offered at Roslyn Seafood Gourmet are still fresher than most general grocer’s fish offerings, Vera explains.

“When you eat a good piece of salmon you want it to be tasty, not fishy,” Vera says. “A lot of people who say they don’t like fish, it’s a result of experiencing a fish that was not quality, nor fresh.”

Vera not only sells fresh-from-the-sea, ready-to-cook seafood, but he will prepare any piece of fish, by any method requested and tailored to any dietary restriction, especially salt, sugar, butter or seasoning limitations.

“Some people do not know how to prepare seafood correctly, but a lot of people do and just do not have the time,” Vera says. “We will do all of that for them.”

Why dirty your kitchen? Roslyn Seafood has all of the sides: pasta salads, vegetables and more to complement any meal. The

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broccoli rabe and quinoa are some of the most popular side dishes requested by customers.

“The prepared foods are a best-seller here too,” says Vera. “If you want a grilled filet with capers and tomatoes, without salt, no problem.”

Vera said his most exciting news is that Roslyn Seafood Gourmet is expanding into the retail space adjoining his market. He has had so many suggestions and requests for many years to open a seating area so customers can dine in. He expects the dining room to be up and running before the summer.

Roslyn Seafood Gourmet will special-order nearly anything that a customer could ask for. Vera said some of the most popular requested fishes that he orders special for customers are: sablefish, black cod, stone and king crab, and sturgeon. Locally-sourced fishes that

customers cannot get enough of are: fluke, Littleneck clams and black sea bass.

Roslyn Seafood Gourmet is located at 444 Willis Avenue in Roslyn Heights. Call 516-484-7944 for details.

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