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Sea merchant Sherwin Willner admits to being a perfectionist. During a recent tour of his 10,000-square-foot fish market at 800 W. Fulton Market, he is compelled to straighten signs marking the prices of the day’s fresh selections. One is off by just a fraction of an inch; he stops to fix it, joking that he sometimes does the same thing when visiting other people’s businesses. "I can’t help it," says the 55-year-old owner of L. Isaacson and Stein Fish Co. "It’s like a curse." Curse or no, it’s that attention to detail that helps Willner stay on top of the huge volumes of fish his market ships daily to destinations ranging from Crystal Lake, Ill., to Hammond, Ind., or just down the street to Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood. "A lot of fish," he says. Suppliers and customers alike describe L. Isaacson and Stein as unique, even among rival fish sellers elsewhere in the United States, the kind of old-style place where the daily selections are written by hand, and quality and service still reign. The market garners high praise in a city often heralded for its steak and potatoes. "It beats any place in New York, Maryland, Rhode Island—any place," says Joe Sheets, one of L. Isaacson and Stein’s long-time suppliers. "You can’t get a cleaner market." A steady stream of retail customers moves through the front room of the warehouse with blue plastic baskets, where they choose from some 50 to 60 varieties of fresh fish, ranging from cod to catfish, tuna to tilapia. Filleting is provided for no extra charge. The freezer houses still more selections. On this particular day, the retail price of red grouper is listed at $4.50 a pound; large croakers go for $2.50; carp is $1.25; jumbo red snapper, $3.75; Atlantic porgies, $3.50; fresh Buffalo, $1.50. And so it goes from bin to ice-filled bin. "I’m going to try the whitefish," says George Massey, a resident of Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood who was exploring the market for the first time. "The selection is terrific." Wholesale customers, including such well-known eateries as Gibsons Steakhouse and Sabatino’s in the city, Bluestone in Evanston and Rossini’s in Niles, can pick from more than 300 varieties of salt- and freshwater fish. The fish is either trucked or flown in from points as varied as the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and Central America. From a barebones office overlooking the loading dock, Willner is a master of logistics. His day starts early, usually before 5 a.m. Dressed in workday blues and heavy boots, he is constantly in motion, checking each wholesale order by hand, calling down to the floor over a loudspeaker to locate employees donned with yellow bib overalls, or juggling endless phone calls with customers and distributors. "What’s the weight on this supposed to be?" he asks a member of his staff, turning in his chair. "Give me one second and I’ll get right back to you," he tells another. All the while, Willner keeps a sharp eye on the movement of his trucks—trucks that on any given day might carry some 2,000 pounds of red snapper or thousands of pounds of shrimp. On this particular day, he’s eagerly awaiting a shipment of Mediterranean porgies, smelts and sea bass from Greece. "If you want quality product, you come here," Willner states. "You get what you pay for." Indeed, he knows his fish. Willner recalls being introduced to the business when he was about eight years old and joined his father, Ben, full-time at the age of 17. His father and a partner bought out the business in the 1940s. Not long after, construction of the expressway prompted a move from nearby Union Street to the market’s current location at 800 W. Fulton Market. The building was once home to a grain and feed store. L. Isaacson and Stein and the businesses that surround it are holdouts in a neighborhood undergoing rapid change. Just across the street on Halsted a promotional sign signals the construction of yet another tony residential development. If those new residents venture into the fish market, Willner and some 20 longtime employees—many who have been with the business more than 25 years—can provide the kind of details about fish often missing from a trip to the local Jewel or Dominick’s, or even the more upscale Whole Foods Market, which these days touts a wide selection of organic fish—and steep prices to go with it. Did you know, for instance, that stingrays and sharks are both in the same family? That strawberry groupers often come from Brazil? Or that good whitefish should always give off the aroma of fresh cucumbers? "Fish should never stink at all," Willner says, pausing in front of a large bin of whole fish covered in pink scales. "Queen snapper is a beautiful fish," he says with reverence. Want a recipe? The owner is happy to oblige. How about fish trivia, like where the doctorfish gets its funny name? Willner knows—and if he doesn’t he’ll look it up for you on the spot. |