Fish fry season in full swing
Fish fry season began in Butler County on Feb. 24 — but not without a few catches.
Sellers of the Lenten favorite had to contend with, in some cases, unexpectedly high demand.
Jo Ann Watterson, in charge of the Friday fish dinners at the American Legion Post 778, 150 Legion Memorial Drive, Lyndora, said the first fish fry Feb. 24 was over within 40 minutes of its 4 p.m. start time when demand wiped out her food supplies.
“I think it was because people were staying to eat. We had to put more tables up,” she said, adding she had 250 customers within a half hour.
“People want to eat in again, plus our price for a meal is $13 when most places are charging $15 or $16,” Watterson said.
She said she’s already ordered more fish and everything else from her food wholesaler for next Friday.
She said preparation starts Wednesday when the delivery truck has to be unloaded. On Thursday, five or six volunteers start preparing the side dishes, such as redskin potatoes, green beans or noodles and cabbage. On Friday, Watterson said she starts at 8 a.m. to begin cooking the sides, while other volunteers begin cutting the cakes for desserts.
“It’s a long six weeks,” she said.
Angelo Napolene, owner of Nappie’s Food, a food service provider and restaurant supply business in Oakdale, fills fish orders for churches, fire halls and fraternal organizations.
“It’s a fairly big part of our business. We send out several truckloads weekly,” he said.
The war in Ukraine has had a ripple effect on fish supplies, he added.
“There’s plenty of fish on the market. There are voids on certain kinds of fish. We don’t purchase product from Russia. Russia is a big part of the cod fishing industry,” Napolene said.
Because of sanctions leveled against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine last year, Napolene said he’s had to turn to other suppliers, which means certain fish and specific sizes may not be available. He said the majority of fish consumed in Western Pennsylvania fish fries is either cod or haddock.
“There’s plenty of fish. The prices are going to be higher for everyone,” he said.
Debbie Zbuckvich, a lifelong member of the St. Conrad Roman Catholic Church congregation, began her third year in charge of the 75 to 100 volunteers needed for the church to put on its fish fry Feb. 24.
During the first Friday in Lent, St. Conrad sold 1,300 takeout-only fish dinners consisting of fried or baked fish, french fries or gluten-free scalloped potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, bread and butter and a dessert between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m.
“Back in the day when they used to have dine-in, we would average 1,300 to 1,900 dinners,” she said.
Today, Zbuckvich said, St. Conrad, the former St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church, 125 Buttercup Road, is the only one of the five churches in All Saints Parish to host a fish fry during Fridays in Lent.
“The church has been doing it for over 20 years,” she said, adding that volunteers begin baking on Wednesday, preparing the coleslaw on Thursday and prepping the potatoes and fish on Friday morning.
“We have a great group of volunteers. We couldn’t do this without them,” Zbuckvich said.
Zbuckvich said the church tries to calculate beforehand so there isn’t too much food left over at the end of the night. Unsold fish dinners go to the cleanup crews, she said, while leftover potatoes and coleslaw are donated to area community dinners.
