Seafood Supplier Starts Home Delivery To Stay Afloat: Coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — One of the true pleasures of dining out in San Francisco is the fresh fish caught right off California. But with restaurants closed for five months now because of the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are seeking creative ways to reinvent themselves.

Restaurants are doing their best to stay viable with pickup and home delivery.

Pioneer Seafoods made its living supplying fresh rockfish, sole, sablefish, halibut and more to restaurants. But with sales slowed almost to a halt, the company is staying afloat by turning to social media to connect directly with people to sell their fresh catch.

“We have definitely experienced many hurdles since the pandemic began as we relied on selling half our fresh catch to restaurants, many of whom were forced to shut down,” said Giuseppe Pennisi, owner of Pioneer Seafoods. “We are grateful for our new customers on Facebook as they have shown us tremendous support, from showing up to the dock to purchase fresh fish and even placing orders ahead of time, which has allowed us to stay in business.”

Pioneer Seafoods now has more than 2,000 Facebook followers.

The operation has relocated from Pier 47 in San Francisco to the Port of Redwood City. But don't worry: It will continue offering home delivery to San Franciscans who are not able to visit its new location.

For those who want to venture down to Redwood City, the new location will feature a fish market and a food truck where customers can enjoy a customized menu of favorite seafood plates. And you know the fish can't get any fresher.

People can visit Pioneer Seafoods on Facebook to find it in Redwood City and to learn when it will start serving seafood fresh on the waterfront. In the meantime, Pennisi has created a few videos to help show people how to transform a fresh-caught fish into a filet ready for their dinner plate. Here's how to fillet a ling cod:

And when you've mastered the cod, you're ready to fillet a petrale sole:

Once you've filleted the fish, try Pioneer Seafood's recipe for Healthy Parmesan Garlic Crumbed Fish.

Pioneer Seafoods has been in operation since the early 1900s. With these innovative pivots, Giuseppe Pennisi aims to keep his small business going for another century.

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