On Main Street and side roads off the roadway you'll find plenty of restaurants with numerous international cuisines to choose from, but on Aug. 31 a new business unique to the area was introduced – Fresh Catch Market & Grill, a fish market with dine-in and take-out options.
"There’s a lot of good restaurants in Smithtown, I think we’re a little different," said manager Corey Pronsky. "I think the menu is pretty affordable, it’s not fancy but we’ve got a lot of good fish at a reasonable price so I think it will do good here."
Fresh Catch, owned by Laura Shea, opened its doors Friday, and to the surprise of both Shea and Pronsky, the response from locals was positively and unexpectedly overwhelming.
"The weekend was great. The response was better than expected," Pronsky said. "The response has been good, people have been buying fresh fish. We’re happy."
The business is not just a fish market, selling a variety of fresh fish and seafood items to bring home to cook, but you could also buy dinners, from grilled dinners to broiled and fried, clams on the half shell, shrimp cocktails and more. These items are available for both dine-in and for take-out customers.
Shea said in addition to the core dishes the location will have daily changing specials not regularly featured on the menu.
Pronsky has been involved in the fish industry for more than 10 years, working on a lobster boat for three years and a fish market in Port Jefferson for seven. Shea, however, has no prior experience in the industry, but has learned about it from Pronsky, which led her to open the business with him as her manager.
The foot traffic and uniqueness to the area, according to both Shea and Pronsky, led her to set up shop in Smithtown.
Fresh Catch Market & Grill is located on Lawrence Avenue next to and open seven days a week – 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
