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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 5
January 2010
Fleet Fisheries opens retail market; better prices to consumers, boats
NEW BEDFORD, MA – Word of a good thing travels fast, and if the crowds of hungry customers are any indication, then Fleet Fisheries Inc.’s new Fisherman’s Market is going to be a huge success.
Conceived by Virginia Vinjerud, wife of Lars Vinjerud II, this retail market opened on Dec. 4 with the idea of passing savings on to the general public by cutting out the middleman in seafood sales.
The place is busy, as customers line up to check out the offerings, which are mostly caught by boats in Vinjerud’s own fleet. Fresh scallops, swordfish, tuna, flounder, live lobster and crabs, salmon, and shrimp all vie for attention in the well-lit space.
On the back wall is a large, high-definition video screen that shows a continuous display of images of Vinjerud’s boats – offloading operations, trip preparation, his new scalloper Alaska’s first trip, and more. Pictures of company boats line the market walls.
Sales persons call out, “Number 57, Number 58” because you need a ticket if you want service.
The market also features two plate-glass walls that let waiting customers observe Fleet’s fish plant in operation and check out products, such as stacks of fresh swordfish and boxes of salt cod.
“We want to use every square foot of our building, so we decided to start selling to the public,” Lars Vinjerud said. “People are happy as hell they can afford it. One 80-year-old guy walked over here to buy seafood. He said he couldn’t afford it otherwise. He bought some shrimp. We gave him a ride home.”
Fresh product
The shrimp come off the Lady Virginia, a Vinjerud boat that fishes from North Carolina to Key West. Fresh product is never a problem because the boats are always coming and going.
Swordfish and tuna come off the Southern Lady and Albi, while lobsters come from the Canyon Express and Hedy Brenna. Scallops come from Explorer, Fjord, Pacer, Cove, Alaska, Freedom, Saga, Linda, and Ocean Lady.
“We buy groundfish from the auction,” Vinjerud said. “It works out good.”
Limited hours
To kick off the new venture, the company decided to open the market only two days per week.
“We’re slow at the plant Fridays and Saturdays, so it frees up employees to help,” Vinjerud said. “It gets the attention of the public when you’re only open a couple days. And it’s easier to keep fish fresh if it’s only in there two days rather than all week.”
He also explained the company’s short-week philosophy by using an example of a food business in Pennsylvania with which his family was familiar.
“Business was in dribs and drabs, until they got a new manger in there. He decided to be open only one day a week, and they did more business in that one day than all the days combined before,” Vinjerud recalled.
So far at the Fisherman’s Market, Fridays seem to draw more senior citizen customers, while Saturdays bring in people buying for family dinners. That translates into about $16 per customer on Fridays and $30 per customer on Saturdays.
Vinjerud said, “We hope to open at other locations. It helps us to pay the boats a little more and (charge) the consumer less, eliminating the middleman.”
The company plans to expand the market’s hours of operation from two to three days a week, Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 am-7 pm. The new business is located at 20 Blackmer Street, all the way to the end of the road on the right off S. Front St.
Don’t forget to grab a ticket.
Steven Kennedy
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