Paul Bilodeau
Gloucester, Massachusetts, is America’s oldest commercial fishing harbor, and like the rest of the country, coronavirus has laid it low.
Activity along the waterfront is at a standstill with fishing vessels idled at the dock because restaurants are barred from hosting on-site dining, which includes the sale of locally procured fish.
But earlier this week some activity popped up when the Giacalone brothers of Fisherman’s Wharf Gloucester, a wholesale seafood dealer, held an impromptu, al fresco fish sale.
They went with a popup sale because they don’t have a retail facility. So, customers drove onto a parking lot and stayed in their vehicles to adhere to safe distancing protocols.
The brothers promoted their first popup fish sale on Saturday — cash only, exact change preferred — on their Facebook page and waited to see what happened. They sold all 400 pounds of haddock and scallops in 25 minutes.
When they repeated the event on Tuesday, traffic backed up onto other streets. They intend to have more Saturday sales until life returns to normal.
You can read more about it in the Gloucester Daily Times.
