A Look Inside Fortune Fish Co.

Fortune Fish Co. is basically the Willy Wonka factory of fish, with less whimsy and more scales. And when you tour it, your guide isn't a sociopath. But I felt like a nautical Augustus Gloop while visiting Fortune Fish Co. recently, touring the facilities and learning what goes on at Chicago's preeminent fish and seafood purveyor. After strapping on special coats, hats, and boots, so as to defend against the cold weather of the facilities and the fish smell, it was down the rabbit hole I went. There was a lot to see and discover at the fish company, but here are some of the most notable takeaways from my field trip:


Start Small, Grow Big

What started as a Chicago company quickly grew to supply much of the Midwest, with a presence currently in six states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri). It all started when they began delivering to southern Wisconsin, a short drive away from Chicago. They grew their market there and amassed the Midwest Whole Foods account, which entailed supplying to various cities such as Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, and Detroit. The growth was an organic process. Nowadays, you can't swing a crab claw without hitting a restaurant in Chicago that works with Fortune Fish Co. 


The Shellfish Room is a Crustaceon Wonderland

Lobsters and oysters and scallops, oh my! Shellfish-lovers will be in seventh heaven upon entering the shellfish room, one of the first sectors of the Fortune Fish tour. Copious amounts of shellfish line the walls and fill bins throughout the space, including a three-tiered lobster tank, a miscellany of glistening stone crab claws, and even custom shellfish grown to spec for Fortune. The fish company has their own 1871 oysters, harvested in Virginia and modeled after a style of oyster popular in 19th century Chicago. They also have their own scallops!


King crab legs
(Crab legs)


The Baby Octopus Tenderizer

There's a machine that looks like a miniature amusement park ride, the kind where people line up along the walls and they start to spin so fast that they stick to it and the floor disappears and someone pukes. Except here it's for tenderizing baby octopus, and it's amazing.


Break it Down

Large cuts of fish and whole fish make their way through an impressive, dexterous assembly line to be scaled, cut, and de-boned by a lineup of veritable fish ninjas. Fish here range from larger varieties such as tuna to smaller fare like whitefish. Byproduct is discarded into designated bins to be picked up by a pet food company that processes them to make pet food.


More Than Fish

Fun fact: Fortune Fish Co. is much more than just fish. Due to customer demand, the company slowly began offering more supplementary products for smaller customers, places that didn't have the capacity to shop around with different purveyors for every little thing. Eventually, Fortune had an aisle full of random provisions, everything from dairy to meet to chocolate, and so they started to utilize those supplies more as a service than as a money-maker. Just as they were looking to expand their inventory, JDY Gourmet was looking to sell their company. As Vice President of Marketing at Fortune Fish Co. Mark Palicki says, "It was the exact right thing to do to grow that division; take people who were already experts and bring them in." Now, Fortune lays claim to a plethora of non-fish supplies, with meat rooms, dairy rooms, dry goods room, and lots more.


Organic salmon
(Organic salmon!)


Popular Provisions

Farmed Atlantic salmon, tuna, in-season halibut, shrimp, king crab, and walleye are among the top sellers at Fortune Fish Co. They also sell more scallops than most anyone else in the country. Around the holidays, lobster and shrimp are especially popular, what with the holidays basically being shrimp cocktail season.


Meribelle Crab/Seafood

The latest custom product for Fortune Fish Co. is called Meribelle, a line of crab meat sourced from one plant in Thailand, though the line may exand to other things beyond crab. As with their custom oysters and scallops, Fortune goes to great lengths to ensure high quality and unique, precise attributes for their products. They visit growers where they want to source from, taste products from different farms, test batches, and grow items to spec. Look for Meribelle to debut in the not-too-distant future.


Sustainability is Paramount

Of course, sustainability is of the utmost importance for a fish and seafood company, and Fortune Fish Co. takes their sustainable practices very seriously. The company donates to aquaculture improvement projects regularly and they are the only MSC-certified (Marine Stewardship Council) company in the Midwest. They also work closely with the Shedd Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to ensure their products are sustainable. As Palicki explains, "We actively participate in our industry to ensure it's around forever."


 

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