Northern Fish Old Town opens
May 15th, 2008 by Republican By DefaultThey took the plunge today and opened for business. This is a great place. They call their coffee shop/bistro ‘Fishtales Bistro’. They’re not allowed restaurant style seating, but there are plenty of choices to take to nearby picnic tables and enjoy.
At the walk-up window is an espresso bar with soups and chowders plus some cool stuff like seafood cocktails. Inside are all of the fish products you’d expect and some more. It’s a good mix of ready to eat, prepped for cooking and unprepped selections.
The location makes it a good place to stop to pick something up for dinner whether I feel like cooking or not (I do like to cook). They’re right on the Ruston Way waterfront in Old Town with plenty of 15 minute parking out front.
I picked up some alder smoked king salmon. I brought it home and had it with cream cheese and chives on wheat bread along with the tomato basil bisque I picked up at Fishtales. Both are really good.
I saved some salmon for my scrambled eggs in the morning (probably topped with the same cream cheese and chives). If there’s any left for the next morning (it’s smoked, it’ll keep) maybe I’ll try it topped with some horseradish cream instead.
Lots of other stuff, too. I stick to the Biblical clean/unclean meats, which basically means fins and scales for fish, so I won’t be trying many of the other seafood varieties they have to offer. They also had some pre-packaged brands available. Spices and other fixin’s were there, too.
I checked on the Copper River Salmon. They expect it early next week.
Their bean of choice is Bella Selva, which is a politically correct coffee from Portland (for those of you who care about such things). It’s a good bean, but it has that organic taste to it. I still prefer Fox Hollow, but this one is pretty good. Definitely better than Starbucks, SBC or Tully’s.
Everyone was helpful and fun to talk with. I’m thinking this may become a regular stop when I’m walking my dog.
From a business perspective I think it stands a pretty good shot of making it. It has a nice open space to make customers feel welcome. The previous tenants had a similar store but it just felt cramped. It also had a processing area in the back for the fresh catch stuff, which made it fresh for cooking, but it still smelled like fish. Those two things were a drawback for me, so I didn’t shop there. The new place fixes those problems.
They have built-in foot traffic during the summer months, along with the regular walkers, bike riders, fishermen and some nearby businesses for the winter months. They’re on one end of the bike path (sidewalk) and even though the best foot traffic is in the middle (Marine Park) I think they’ll do pretty good right there. Car traffic on Ruston Way is good year round, so they should benefit from the afternoon commute.
The walk-up window makes it very inviting from the sidewalk (about 25 feet away). While I was there I saw several people walk up to the window then decide to come in and look around. The window was definitely a good choice for this business.
Because they’re on the waterfront with parks on either side I don’t think that there will be any other businesses opening within a block of their location, so there won’t be anyone to benefit from the additional foot traffic they might create. It’s just one of the drawbacks of waterfront locations. Too many restrictions.
Update: Shipments of Copper River salmon are a little slow to our area according to the News Tribune. I don’t know how that will affect Northern Fish Old Town, but I’m looking forward to some of this salmon. It’s always a treat when it’s in season.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Thanks for keeping tabs on this spot. Before when it was Johnny’s (?) I wasn’t really much of a fish eater but now that I know a bit more about what I like this should make for a good place to learn more and get some healthy food. Cheers and good luck to them!