Nothing fishy going on, just evolution for Italian Market fishmongers

Jun 20, 2017 1428

BY: AD Amorosi

The corner-stall fishmonger in the "South 9th Street Curb Market" – titled as such from a historic plaque on the northeast corner of 9th and Christian streets – is as well-known as any fruit or vegetable vendor, shoe cobbler, dry-goods procurer or rare bookseller has been to the block. And the sale of freshly caught fish, crabs and other denizens of the local waters has been as commonplace to the Italian Market since the late 19th century as any produce or service.

“I was a girl when I first started selling fish with my father over 40 years ago, from high school through college,” said Janet Anastasi-Stechman, who runs the iconic and soon-to-close Anastasi Seafood restaurant/retail store with her brother, Salvatore Anastasi, on the doubly iconic corner of 9th & Washington – the Italian Market’s ground zero. “Back then, fish was considered a poor man’s food, and we sold a lot of it here,” she said, remarking on the working-class roots of this blue-collar neighborhood. “Now people see the health value in fish, so there’s that market. Things change.”  

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SOURCE: http://www.metro.us

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