The ample offerings and passion are evident at Fresh Catch, a seafood market that will also serve carry-out, in northern St. Petersburg.
By PAUL SWIDER
Published August 23, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - When Adam Paup decided to come back home, he did so in more ways than one.
After seven years in Orlando, Paup moved back in 2004 because he wanted his son to grow up in St. Petersburg, as he had. His wife, Christina, took a job at Meadowlawn Middle School after he sold a tiling business. Then he started plans to open Fresh Catch Seafood Market, a business he left behind when he moved away years before.
Paup, 29, had bought Fresh Catch 10 years ago, right out of high school, but sold it in less than a year to move to Orlando when his wife found a job there. In the interim, the Fresh Catch on Fourth Street closed, so Paup is reviving it in a new location.
"There's no seafood market on this end of town," said Paup, who opened at 1900 62nd Ave. N four months ago but had been building up the business for two years.
The shop is still taking shape, he said, but it is already redolent of the trade.
Small ice-filled cases hold whole fish that Paup filets on the spot for customers, as well as clams and oysters and some of the prepared specialties from his own recipes. Simple handmade signs announce New England clam chowder, lobster bisque, seafood kabobs and smoked fish spread.
Paup rises at 5:30 a.m. several times a week to make the trek to docks at Ruskin and the beaches to meet fishermen and buy fresh off the boat.
He said if the fish don't look right, he'll go without rather than sell something of lesser quality.
"We're striving really hard to have fresh, quality fish," said Paup, who stocks fresh grouper, snapper, shark, mahi and shrimp among others.
Paup, who runs the business himself, also stocks Cedar Key clams and Appalachicola oysters, as well as a variety of fresh and frozen products from around the country, like wild Alaska salmon. He said visitors from the Northeast are pleased to see him sell Ipswich steamers, halibut and haddock, but he has also developed local regulars who drive all the way from Pinellas Point for his soups, Port Richey for his spread, or have just cultivated a fondness for his crab cakes.
Paup recently installed a grill so he can add carry-out meals to his business.
He said customers will be able to choose a fish from the case and he'll cook it up on the spot. He plans to expand food service gradually as the business grows and will add a steamer for a wider variety of hot meals.
Paup grew up around restaurants and learned what he knows about food and fish from family. His mother and stepfather, Peggy and Dan Wesner, operated several before settling on Fish Tales in the last few years.
Most of Paup's customers are seafood lovers, he said, but he's also seeing lots of health-conscious clients and has established a marketing partnership with a weight-loss program to offer discounts to its clients.
He also caters to party planners and does considerable preorder pickup business: He will expand his hours during football season to accommodate tailgaters and others needing a fresh fish feast.
Paup said he would have liked to return Fresh Catch to its Fourth Street roots but rents were too high.
Still, the name lingers and he gets customers he knew before.
"Some people still remember," he said.
Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.
