The latest musings from the fish shanty on Front Street.

Dear FFDers,

I always tell people when asked what it’s like to own your own business: It’s good to be the king, but there is one minor catch: you have to be a slave to the public. The public rules. It demands your hours of operation, it demands the quality and consistency of your product, it demands your service at their beck & call. The only way a retailer sets his/her own rules is by having created such a niche that the public becomes your slave. For instance a customer will drive on end to go get that perfect ice cream or the unique cider, or stand in line for an hour to pay 20 dollars for a small box of fried clams. Those businesses are rare, but they set a great example of “what can be” and they get to take their winters off, but when wrapping up all Summer and Fall operations they probably feel like they just finished a full 12 months, having endured the full wrath of  it’s true master: we, the public.

I mention this because this past Saturday and Monday were noticeably slow at good ol’ FFD and after 30 years of doing this I do have a sense of what takes precedence on certain weekends of the year.( football games, outdoor and painting projects, visiting friends before hunkering down, just general busy go-go stuff), Though it’s our goal, We are not the kind of business that has them standing in line, and I’m not sure I have even anything remotely close to that kind of energy to run such a joint…so.. to keep it short , because of your preoccupations I had plenty of good fish through Tuesday, my usual run day.We finally made some room for the new arrivals, today Wed 28th , and it definitely would be worth the visit.

All new and exciting: Fresh halibut, haddock, flounder, cod, sword, snapper, Atlantic Salmon.

Prepared Seafood division: New Baked stuffed Clams, fresh Albacore salad, Fish Chowder, Smoked trout pates, calamari salad

Beautiful fruit …local peaches, cantaloupes( not from CO) , Michigan blueberries organic bananas and red leaf lettuce. Fresh eggs. We pack alot of stuff into this little space and we try and give you something that makes you come back again and again. Now it goes unsaid that I’d love to see each and everyone of you folks and am most grateful when you take the time and make the effort to get to my store. All I can ask is that you don’t come all at once. Heaven forbid I have to take my winters off.

Thanks for your time….Fred

freshfishdaley.com