Nassau Street Seafood & Produce Company Celebrates 30 Years

When Jack Morrison opened in 1982, he never imagined it would become a long-term career.

He and his wife Debbie were just looking to move somewhere convenient to both New York and Philadelphia. Princeton seemed like a logical choice.

“We put a down payment on the house and I brilliantly said ‘Honey, let’s scrape our monies together and we’ll open up a seafood market,’” Morrison said. “Nowhere in my life did I think this was what I would be doing for the rest of my life.”

Over the past three decades, what began with just two employees- Kevin “Smitty” Smith and former U.S. Navy cook Mitch Drozdek, has grown into Princeton powerhouse JM Group, which now employs about 130 people at Nassau Street Seafood & Produce Company, , and The Princeton Farmer's Market.

“I worked ridiculous, ridiculous amounts,” Morrison said of the early days at the seafood market “I’d get up at midnight, go to the market and cut the fish, come home maybe 5 or 6 at night…grab a nap, jump in the shower, come down and eat dinner and then go to bed at 9 and get up at midnight again. So I didn’t survive on much sleep, but I just liked it.”

Today the market sells fresh seafood, prepared meals, and take-out lunches and dinners. And none of it would have been possible without the support of the community and his family, Morrison said.

The store will mark its 30^th anniversary with a celebration on Saturday, Sept. 8 from noon to 4 p.m., featuring an outdoor lobster bake (1-¼ lb. lobster, sweet Jersey corn, steamed potatoes, coleslaw, drink and dessert) for $19.82. Customers may also enjoy delicious food, live music, family fun, trivia and more.

“We take great pride in knowing we have been a part of many family meals and get-togethers, and it has been our pleasure to be part of such a great community,” Morrison said.  “We want to say thank you to our loyal fans and customers who have been with us through the years, and invite everyone to stop in and say hi and enjoy a fun day."

During the past 30 years, Princeton has become Morrison’s home. It’s where he and Debbie raised their children, daughter Kristin, 29 and son Jess, 25.

Morrison made a commitment to keep his business in Princeton rather than spend his working hours in a car.

“I thought if I can make it happen here in town and go to my kids’ soccer games- which I did- and enjoy all that stuff, even though I work like a mule, at the end of the day what do you measure, money in the bank or knowing your kids? It’s corny, but it’s true.”

One thing Morrison learned back in 1982- Princeton consumers knew a lot more about fish than he did. For years he made daily trips to the Fulton Fish Market in New York, but over the years he’s made enough connections to buy direct from fishermen and brokers in New Zealand, Honolulu, California, Oregon, Panama, Greece and Nova Scotia, to name but a few.

Fresh fish arrives in Princeton hours after its been caught, Morrison said. All of the fish is bought whole, not precut, which means it doesn’t have to be processed offsite and stuck in a can or in a truck, often for days.

That makes all the difference when it comes to the taste of the fish.

“It’s off the knife,” Morrison said. “It’s not spoiled or treated with anything. Plus we’re fusspots.”

For example, Morrison and his staff buy king salmon that’s trawl-caught in the ocean. Those salmon are full of fat as they prepare for their swim up the river. By comparison, river- caught salmon, which sells for about $1-2 less per pound, has already expended all of its fat, so it’s dry and doesn’t have any flavor, Morrison said.

Besides the relationships he has cultivated in the fishing industry, Morrison’s face lights up when he describes his employees, many of whom have been with him for more than 20 years. And he’s seen Princeton families grow and change over times, with elderly parents returning to town and children growing up and starting families of their own.

In fact, it’s the people side of the business that seems to bring the most joy to Morrison.

“(This business) is not for the faint of heart, it’s very tough, but the rewards were beyond my wildest dreams,” he said. "And I measure rewards in a lot of different ways, way beyond financial rewards, because they’re not that huge.”