Any Given Friday: Lent Is Crunch Time at Coleman’s Fish Market
Photo by Derek Redd Trending
WHEELING - Having handled the Lenten rush at Coleman's Fish Market since the 1970s, business owner Joe Coleman and wholesale manager Tracy Agostinelli have seen a few things.
There was the era when employees of the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel would hot foot it to Centre Market - 15 minutes down the street, 30 minutes to enjoy an iconic golden-fried fillet tucked between two slices of white bread, 15 minutes back. There were workers from the former Ohio Valley Medical Center who would hustle multiple orders back to the hospital in a midday sprint.
"Whoever's here now is driving," Coleman said. "No one's walking anymore."
But, they're sure willing to stand, he noted.
Any given Friday during the Easter-anticipating observance - a fish-centric time for Roman Catholics - brings lines that snake through the Centre Market building. The crowd sometimes spills out onto the sidewalk, prompting phone-savvy customers to call in orders from their place in the queue.
(That kind of thing won't necessarily work, Coleman noted. Phone orders are still assigned to five-minute delivery windows lest the kitchen be overwhelmed.)
"It's been a joyous start for everybody," Coleman added of the wait turning into a regular chat fest in 2022, the first full-on Lenten season since the pandemic shut things down mid-observance in 2020. "Everybody's catching up."
What's happening on the customers' side of the counter isn't all that different for the 30 some workers who keep the fish flying out the door, Agostinelli added during a brief break from a daylong fish-cutting session.
"If you're watching it from the other side, it's like controlled chaos. Everyone is going different directions, but it's all getting done," she said of the retail kitchen and wholesale operation more than doubling its normal volume to produce tens of thousands of sandwiches during the season.
"It's like a totally different atmosphere," Agostinelli said of Lent. "Everything's, like, supercharged. You don't think it's ever going to end, but it does."
Coleman - who noted Lent dwarfs even the high Christmas demand for a variety of seafood types driven by local Italian families celebrating a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes - said it catches him by surprise every year even though he's doing the supply ordering.
"That first week ... it's almost like a freight train hitting you," Coleman said.
DAY BY DAY
Coleman and Agostinelli have Lent down - as does Jodi Carder, Coleman's daughter and heir apparent to the 108-year-old business. They said it takes a one-day-at-a-time mindset and a schedule that runs with military precision.
While the restaurant kitchen keeps humming daily except for Sundays, six fish cutters spend Lenten Mondays through Thursdays mostly preparing for each Friday's rush, Agostinelli said, noting it's a skill-heavy job. "Not everyone can just come in and cut fish."
Then, beginning at 7 a.m. each Friday, the breading kicks into high gear. Staff must coat fillets for not only the restaurant but for 40 fire department and church fish fries around the tri-state area, she said.
That supply moves out quickly, she noted. The first Friday customers usually show up at about 8:30 a.m. and she said the demand is non-stop - with 20 staffers in the kitchen and seven fryers going strong — until the shop closes at 6:30 p.m.
"It doesn't really end until Good Friday," Agostinelli said of the pace. "Some will eat it here. Some will take it home. Some will go to the different fire departments and churches. We're supplying them all."
NEW CHALLENGES
Coleman said it's good to see Lenten sales back to normal after two years of pandemic interruption. In 2020, the mass quarantine brought Lenten observances to an abrupt halt just three weeks in, he said. In 2021, churches still weren't doing fish fries for the most part and not everyone was going to restaurants.
Venues and customers are back in 2022, but Coleman noted COVID-19 can still be felt in the supply chain. He offered multiple examples:
Trucks full of frozen seafood from Iceland or Asia may be on hold in a faraway port. The tiny cups needed to serve tartar sauce may be impossible to purchase at times. Wholesalers and retailers are busy competing for a limited supply of Alaskan product - hoping domestic shipping will be less problematic.
"Every week's a completely different ballgame - what's not around," Coleman said.
And, in a situation unrelated to the pandemic but exacerbated by it, Coleman is also needing to keep an eye on isobars these days. A La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean has led to high winds and fewer fishing days in the North Atlantic - something even a dedicated supply line for fresh product can't fix.
Thus far into Lent 2022, the fish supply has held out. But, both Coleman and Agostinelli said there have been moments they have wondered if it would.
"By Saturday, it's very close," Agostinelli said. "But, then a new shipment arrives and you start all over."
LAND AHOY
Realizing during their interview that Lent's midpoint was near, Coleman and Agostinelli exchanged a look that was a mix of weariness and a high five. They'd been eating choice bits of favorite seafood throughout the day and quitting time was only three hours away.
"I think we're a bit spoiled," Agostinelli said of the sheer access to the good stuff.
And, five decades into the business, they know the end of Lent will come with the same suddenness as its beginning.
"It's hard to slow down," Coleman said of the inevitable return to normal. "But, everybody is fished out. Then you get used to it and start planning vacations and stuff."
Agostinelli smiled a bit at that. "It's like a big exhale."