If you’re a part of the fishing community on the North Fork, then you know Jermaine Owens and his partner in life and business, Danielle Cullen. The two have run North Fork Seafood since February of 2020, a seafood delivery service that sells fish from local fisherman to restaurants and individuals. Now they are opening what they are calling a seafood kiosk in the space below Anker restaurant in Greenport, allowing customers to have direct access to their fish.
“It’s like a miniature version of a full fledged fish market.,” Cullen said. They will have fresh seafood and prepared foods to go. And they are using their connections with local fishermen to stock the cases.
“We are trying to keep things as local as possible,” Cullen said. “Of course, the things that we can’t get locally like salmon, we are obviously going to bring in. But for the most part, Jermaine has a fantastic network of local fishermen just because he’s been in the business for so many years.”
After over a year of running the delivery business and splitting with their partners at Shelter Island Seafood, the two are excited to have more face to face time with customers. “We love doing the deliveries and dealing with the restaurants but both of us like to get to know the people that we sell to and develop a relationship with them,” Cullen said. “Now it becomes more than just business.” Both Owens and Cullen are North fork natives, Cullen from Southold and Owens from Greenport, so it “means a lot to him that this is his hometown,” she continued. “Greenport is the place to be.”
Right now, the business will operate as a typical seafood market does and supply all the fish on the menu at Anker, but in the future they have hopes to collaborate with the restaurant on another level.
“Eventually that will be our goal for a customer to be able to see a piece of striped bass and have it cooked upstairs,” Cullen said.
North Fork Seafood LLC will have its grand opening on Friday as Anker opens for the season as well. The market will be open all weekend through Memorial day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. After that, the hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. open everyday except Monday.
