Marino’s isn’t the only family business in the neighborhood trying to adapt. Down the block, Joe Cicarelli has run Dave & Tony’s Salumeria for 22 years. Cicarelli said he has to contend with many rising expenses, including delivery fees, gas, taxes and rent. Like Marino’s products, his imported Italian dry goods, meats and cheeses are mostly meant for families and home cooks.
“We don't have a lot of cooked food here,” he said, showing off the mozzarella he makes in the store’s back room each morning before its 7 a.m. opening. “And that is what the young people want.”
Up the block at International Meat Market, John Stratigakis also tries to keep up with his younger customers’ more modern palates.
“People now worry more about their health,” he said. “So we get hormone-free organic chicken or grass-fed beef.”
In contrast to the Marinos’ fish store, Stratigakis said his business still draws a steady stream of customers. But for the most part, meat is a cheaper protein than fish, as Charlie Marino, a cousin of the store’s manager, pointed out.
“If you have to feed your family, you feed them chicken—or pasta. The cheapest fish I have up here is $3.99 [a pound],” he said, gesturing to the slender whitings tucked between salmon steaks and plump basses marked at $6.99 per pound.
The shopkeepers of Astoria, Queens, talk about a shift away from home cooking over the past decade, but times may be changing. Inside Ocean 1 Fish Market at 35-08 30th Avenue, Chris Trovel was planning an evening get-together with some friends. It was Tuesday, a night to cook, and Trovel purchased an armload of soft-shell crabs. He misses going out to restaurants, but he’s adapting. “It’s the best way to get together and it just happens less now," he said. "That’s just the way it has to be.”
—Jenny Shalant
To make up for the decline in individual sales, Marino and Sons has now turned the bulk of its business to supplying restaurants. A decade ago, Marino said, his clientele was split between 75 percent retail, 25 percent wholesale. Now, that more profitable retail business has slipped to about 40 percent.
Supplying Astoria’s many new restaurants helps keep the store afloat, but Marino says the restaurant business is less dependable: “People go out to eat less in times like this."
Just as sales are declining, the cost of business is rising. To refrigerate his stock and keep the store open six days a week, Marino says his energy costs have skyrocketed. He spends approximately 18 percent more on his ConEd bill this year as compared to 2007. His daily commute, more than 100 miles round trip, takes its toll, too. Weekly fuel costs are about $325 he said, $75 more than last year.
Although he admits times are tough, Marino thinks his business will survive. He guesses it will be another 20 years before he’ll give up the 2:30 a.m. wake-up call and the trek through the Bronx to bring Astoria its daily catch.
But Marino may be the last anchor in his family legacy. “My sons aren’t interested in this business,” he said. “It’s too many hours and things you have to do. I'm probably the end of the line."
1. Go to the back of fish markets like Marinos or seafood restaurants and ask for the heads, tails and bones. Usually these parts are free, or else very cheap, and they make for a great fish stock said Francesca Notowidigdo, an artist.
2. Buy fish seasonally. Swordfish and salmon tend to be cheaper in the winter. Softshell crab and lobster are more plentiful in the summer.
3. You can buy fish worms for as little as $3.99 from Costco and catch your own fish from the local city waters said Ronnie Bueno. But be careful. Do not eat more than one catch a month and make sure you check the advisory warnings on the State Health Department's Web site for information on PCB contamination.
4. Entertain at home instead of going out to eat. You can save a lot of money, especially if you are a seafood lover. Two pounds of fresh mussels at Marino & Sons costs $5. A typical appetizer portion at a restaurant would set you back $8.95.
