From Hunts Point direct to you

Sourcing the freshest fish for the pescatarian palate

By Duncan Hutchison | Manor Ink Mentor

Liberty, NY –Anthony Lockwood is fulfilling a dream. Not that he gets much sleep nowadays.

As a child growing up on Long Island, Anthony fondly recalls long days and nights fishing and crabbing in the Fire Island Inlet. “That was my experience fishing growing up – always on the water.”

While Lockwood repeatedly tried to find a way to bring his catch to market close to home, local competition and the difficulty of finding a suitable location made the opportunity unrealistic. But then his uncle, who has a hunting property in the Catskills, called. “He told me there was really no competition up here and that a lot of folks were moving up from the city, so I took a chance.” About a month ago, that chance coupled with a fierce determination and an intense work ethic led to the opening of the Liberty Fish Market at 187 Mill Street, adjacent to Beer World and the K&K Pharmacy.

While Lockwood’s not looking back, he’s had to make some drastic adaptations to his sleep cycle in order to bring his Catskill customers what they demand: fish that’s as fresh and as varied as the best available in New York City.

In order to do that, Lockwood described a grueling schedule: “The beginning of the week, Monday, starts on Sunday night. My driver meets me here at 11:30 p.m., and we arrive at Hunts Point Market at around 2 a.m., and start shopping. We go to every single vendor to find the best quality and widest variety of fish we can get our hands on. Everything is hand-picked, and at around 4 a.m., we pack the truck and start heading back to Liberty. We get here about 6 a.m., and by 9 a.m. we’re ready to start selling.”

Anthony Lockwood repeats this schedule three times a week, ensuring stocks of fresh fish from the best vendors at Hunts Point are on ice in Liberty on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

With word of the new venture spreading fast, Anthony says his sales to retail customers compared to sales to restaurants in the area are already about half and half. “A lot of local chefs are coming in and they’re excited to see fresh fish that’s previously been virtually impossible for them to source on their own.”

So how does Anthony get enough sleep? Well, despite power naps in the van, evidently he doesn’t. But who needs sleep when you’re young and successful? The combination of the energy and excitement at the market, and pride in how he and his three employees are succeeding in the new venture, clearly makes up for it. For more information, visit yelp.com/biz/liberty-fish-market-liberty.