Restaurant Wholesalers Are Pivoting To Sell to Grocery Stores, Directly to the Public

[DonRocks]

On 4/30/2020 at 9:40 AM, lion said:

Has anyone ordered from ProFish?

I am very much out of my depth when it comes to wholesalers such as Profish, especially when it comes to this new "Wholesale to the Public" concept that (I think) has resulted from COVID-19. See also The National Drive-Thru Market thread (that market includes Profish as one of its vendors). 

Assuming these concepts are new - and I'd never heard of them before - they have the potential to permanently change "the way things are." Sysco, for example, is pivoting to supply grocery stores:

Mar 27, 2020 - "Spend $250, Get an Ounce of Caviar: Restaurant Suppliers Get Creative To Survive" by Amelia Lucas on cnbc.com

I would really appreciate the thoughts, no matter how detailed or broad, that restaurateurs have about this issue.

[DC Deb]

I have been buying from JJ McDonnell in Elkridge. I have a Restaurant Depot membership but they have also opened it to the public. Anyone can go in and get a one day pass now.

[deangold]

Profish is one of the better fish suppliers in the area. I would say on a par with JJ Mcdonnell. A & H {which retails out of Pesca Deli in Bethesday, is better but more limited. We just places out first order with Profish and will pick it up Thursday. They ahve last of season snow crab claws and a high premium over earlier, but I oculdn't resist. Fresh American Shrimp {never been frozen, most American shrimp are slacked out} and Dry Scallops filled out ur $50 minimum order. That really is 4 days woth of seafood at a minimum which is as long as I am willing to hold the fish. I might make some of the scallops and shrimp into a seafood cocktail on the third day which will help get them to day 4. 

If this works, our next order will include Golden Tile and Wild Rock. Both of these fish are superb from them. For just the two of us, the $50 minimum has been daunting and we can barely make it. Their frozen shrimp, which we eat regularly, is not a good addition to the basket as it is not a particularly good brand from quality or sustainability reasons. They do have mussels in 2# bags and Virginia clams in 25 clam units priced very well. Restaurant Depot is only $1 to $2 cheaper if you buy 10# of mussels or 100 clams. 

[weezy]

On 5/26/2020 at 10:49 AM, deangold said:

Profish is one of the better fish suppliers in the area. I would say on a par with JJ Mcdonnell. A & H {which retails out of Pesca Deli in Bethesday, is better but more limited. We just places out first order with Profish and will pick it up Thursday. They ahve last of season snow crab claws and a high premium over earlier, but I oculdn't resist. Fresh American Shrimp {never been frozen, most American shrimp are slacked out} and Dry Scallops filled out ur $50 minimum order. That really is 4 days woth of seafood at a minimum which is as long as I am willing to hold the fish. I might make some of the scallops and shrimp into a seafood cocktail on the third day which will help get them to day 4. 

If this works, our next order will include Golden Tile and Wild Rock. Both of these fish are superb from them. For just the two of us, the $50 minimum has been daunting and we can barely make it. Their frozen shrimp, which we eat regularly, is not a good addition to the basket as it is not a particularly good brand from quality or sustainability reasons. They do have mussels in 2# bags and Virginia clams in 25 clam units priced very well. Restaurant Depot is only $1 to $2 cheaper if you buy 10# of mussels or 100 clams. 

 Dean -- I live over in Annandale and I'm willing to go in on an order.  Would love some rockfish and/or fresh shrimp.   I haven't had tilefish, so that would be an interesting cookign experiment for me.  Next week perhaps?

[deangold]

17 hours ago, weezy said:

 Dean -- I live over in Annandale and I'm willing to go in on an order.  Would love some rockfish and/or fresh shrimp.   I haven't had tilefish, so that would be an interesting cookign experiment for me.  Next week perhaps?

I will let you know. I was also thinking of trying to put together a soft shell order. 

[deangold]

We picked up our profish order, I drove up to the truck, said my name to the masked driver and he grabbed the styrofoam fish box and asked me if I wanted it tin the front seat, back seat or in the far back. It was a seamless process. I feel bad because I forgot to tip him.

When I got home, I weighed the products. At first I was pissed thinking I was shorted on the shrimp as it came to 14 oz, but when I actually looked at eh bill, I was charged for 14.4 oz. Since there had been some liquid in the bag which probably has shrimp juice in it, the weight charged was fair. The scallops came out to 1# on the dot and I was charged for 1#. The crab claws were 1# 6 oz and I got charged 1.1 pounds or for 1# 1.6 oz. That was a bargain. 

The scallops look fab and the shrimp looked & smelled great. Tonight we are going to bake the shrimp is local heirloom tomato sauce, Maryland feta, local spring onion & herbs. Probably going to cook some pasta w/local ramp pesto to accompany. I will put the half scallops and a few shrimp in lime juice overnight for cevich, and pansear the remaining scallops. 

This is a big win. The seafood seems even more pristine than when I ordered for the Grotto from Profish as I bet they are keeping the inventory much tighter. I highly recommend this option.