Copper River Seafoods had its wholesale order plan for deliveries to area restaurants all laid out when the pandemic hit, forcing many eating establishments to close and leaving a whole lot of frozen seafood industry with no place to go.
When the first three restaurant owners began laying off staff, so they could apply before the rush began to get unemployment, CRS marketing manager Jim Kostka placed a call to them to see what the fish processing company could do to help the newly unemployed and their business as well.
“We asked ourselves what we could do to make a difference in the community,” said Kostka. “Through no fault of their own they were concerned about health issues and economic challenges.”
Meanwhile CRS had large quantities of flash frozen seafood that was suddenly not going to restaurants that had to cancel their orders.
CRS quickly came up with a plan that put four-ounce portions of flash frozen halibut into 16- pound boxes and sold them to folks who came to buy them at the company’s downtown Anchorage campus for $75. That $5 a pound just covered packaging costs, Kostka said.
It was not wholesale pricing. The pop-up shop quickly went through about 2,500 pounds of last year’s catch, he said. News of the sale spread quickly on the Internet and one woman even drove down from Fairbanks to buy a box.
Anchorage customer Sue Perry was delighted. She read about the deal on the Internet and rushed down to purchase a box. She plans to come back for more when CRS announces its next pop-up store.
“I will go back for more and I will share because we need to take care of our neighbors,” she said. “You can expect government this and that, but at the end of the day we need to take care of our neighbors.”
“It’s cycle of life,” she said. “The restaurants are not buying the fish, so we get to enjoy. This will help the fishermen too.”
CRS is equally enthused. For now the company plans to continue offering a weekly 10-pound variety box of “the best seafood in the world, as well as smoked and bulk orders, as a means to get healthy protein out to feed our Alaska neighbors and loved ones at bulk/wholesale prices and to keep our commercial fishing industry viable,” Kostka said.
CRS will have weekly offerings to be posted online at the company’s new ecommerce site, alaskawildseafoodmarket.com.
His new mantra, said Kostka is “Let us help you make your home, your new favorite restaurant featuring wild Alaskan seafood!”
