The Fish is Always Fresh at Kathleen's Catch

Kathleen Hulsey, owner of the newly opened Kathleen’s Catch, likes to think of herself as a fish mongress.  She became somewhat of a seafood expert thanks to her husband, Mike, who has worked as the retail sales manager at Inland Seafood for 25 years. Because he sells to grocery stores, “people would always ask us what the best grocery store to buy seafood was,” Hulsey said. “We always bought our fish directly from Inland.”

So Hulsey started taking orders and delivering fresh fish to her friends and family. “They told their friends and it grew and grew to where I had enough business where I could start this shop and have people come here and pick it up,” said the 48-year-old mother of two.

Her customers choose to go to her retail location at 9810 Medlock Bridge Road, just north of State Bridge, rather than a grocery store because the fish is fresh.  She said that having her shop located between two restaurants (Trattoria one 41 and Viande Rouge) helps because they’re getting deliveries every day.  Most grocery stores, on the other hand, do not get daily deliveries, Hulsey explained, so they have to buy enough to last until their next delivery, causing some of the fish to sit around for awhile.

“My fish come in every morning and I buy small amounts because I try to sell out every day so that my case is ready for the next day’s fish,” she said.  Customers can order online, call or just show up at the store. As far as she knows, there’s nothing else like it in Atlanta.

That may be because people have a hard time associating Atlanta with fresh seafood. Hulsey said that while it does seem unlikely that Atlanta would be a location for fresh seafood, it’s actually ideal because of its status as the transportation hub of the South. 

She explained, “When you go to the beach in Florida, you could get fresh grouper, but if you buy salmon, who knows how long it’s taken to get to a little town in Florida? Where as in Atlanta, because of Hartsfield, there are non-stop flights from all over the world. So fish come out of the Gulf of Alaska, make a quick stop in Seattle and on to me in just a day or two.”  She added that Atlanta’s location in the highway system also makes it perfect for receiving fresh seafood quickly.

And that’s what Hulsey focuses on as her specialty—fresh fish.  “I don’t sell catfish; I don’t sell tilapia; I don’t sell fish that comes frozen that I throw in the bag and throw in the case. I sell to more discriminating buyers, people who appreciate fresh fish. It’s not for the person who is just as happy buying frozen salmon at Kroger,” she said.

That doesn’t mean she’s completely anti-frozen fish.  If she doesn’t sell something after two days she vacuum seals it, puts it in her freezer and then offers “Cooler Diving Days” on Wednesdays. Customers can come in and buy the leftovers at a marked-down price. 

In the few weeks that Kathleen’s Catch has been open, Hulsey is already seeing regulars. A lot of her customers eat fish three or four times a week, which she finds amazing. And she’s happy to receive emails from these fish-lovers and set something aside for them.

“I don’t bring in a lot of any one kind of fish every day because I sell out,” she said. “They can always come and pick out of the case but if they have something they have their heart set on for dinner tonight, they can send me an email and I’ll hold it or I’ll order it for tomorrow.” 

Hulsey said she loves the idea of creating a network with email so she can have more of a personal relationship with her customers.  And what else would you expect from the fish mongress of Johns Creek?

You can find more information on Kathleen’s Catch at www.kathleenscatch.com.