History

A Proud Past as a Foundation to a Promising Future

Second Generation of Barry Family

Pier Fish Company commenced business in 1910; the company founded by James Barry was located at 130 Atlantic Avenue in the heart of Boston's Industrial waterfront. Pier Fish established itself as a leading purveyor of seafood to many of Boston's finer eating establishments and neighborhood retail fish markets. Over the years the business continued to grow under James Barry's direction until the late 1930's when his son, James (also known as Jim), took control of the business. The company maintained itself through the war years and began to experience substantial growth in the years following the war. This prompted the business to incorporate in 1947.

In the 1960's the city of Boston began a period of growth and change. The waterfront area along Atlantic Avenue that for years had been the center of commerce for various Marine Industry Businesses began to change. Residential housing was constructed to accommodate the needs of a growing population. The waterfront area became desirable to the general public for recreation and general enjoyment. Retail businesses in addition to restaurants and taverns began to locate in the area to service a changing clientele. These changes prompted the flight of traditional marine businesses to the area across the Fort Point Channel in South Boston. Along with several other fish companies, Pier Fish moved to its new location in 1968 at 145 Northern Avenue.

Over the course of the 1970's, Jim Barry's five sons joined the business and a third generation began to learn the family trade. One by one the five boys; Jim, Michael, Kevin, Richard, and John established themselves in various roles with the company. The business continued to grow and expand its sales to a wider geographic area in the cities and towns surrounding Boston. They added hospitals, schools, and other well-known institutions to their traditional customer base of restaurants and retail markets. The business serviced customers who came into the market to purchase goods as well as providing delivery when the situation demanded.

In 1976 Congress passed the Magnussen Act, creating a two hundred-mile exclusive economic zone of the United States coastline. Foreign vessels that had dominated the harvest of fish off our shoreline were no longer permitted to fish in these waters. The local fleet began to grow with new vessels entering the fishery at a rapid pace. The traditional ports of Gloucester and New Bedford were also growing but Boston continued to maintain its position as the center of commerce for the seafood industry, not just for Massachusetts but for the entire New England region. These circumstances created a new opportunity for Pier Fish in the whole fish trade. As one of the original members of the New England Fish Exchange (the cooperative seafood auction located on the Boston Fish Pier) the company was well positioned to start managing the unloading of boats that chose to sell their catch through the auction.

The 1980's were booming years in the local seafood industry, reports of the health benefits associated with consumption of seafood fueled the demand of an increasingly health conscious population. This new demand resulted in both an expansion of the amount of fish landed as well as increasing prices for the product. Along with the increase in local landings, the red-hot Boston Market attracted millions of pounds of seafood from the Atlantic Provinces in Canada. The combined surge of product in the marketplace prompted the establishment of many new seafood processing companies. The majority of the fish came into Boston from other locations necessitating local brokers to manage the sales of fish. These brokers worked on a percentage of the sale but also provided credit terms, making them a source of working capital for new start up firms, most of them undercapitalized. Pier Fish Company had traditionally managed their finances extremely conservatively leaving the business with a solid foundation of retained earnings to serve as working capital for the business. This strength permitted the business to enjoy a period of unprecedented growth and profits.

As the 1980's came to a close, the industry began to change; the vibrant economy was beginning to cool. Consumers were growing more careful with their spending and began to resist the high cost of seafood. Lower cost proteins such as chicken and turkey were taking a chunk of the market share for seafood. At the same time landings were beginning to shrink, leading environmentalists and government regulators to closely scrutinize the situation. It was determined that pressure from a larger domestic fleet coupled with a relaxed approach to regulations had inflicted injury on numerous valuable commercial species of fish.

The 1990's brought sweeping changes to the industry. Federal Fish Managers began to approve a series of regulations focused on reducing the harvest of seriously depleted stocks of fish. At the same time Canadian Officials were responding a similar crisis in their waters which caused them to also limit their harvest. These actions had a major effect on the Boston Seafood Market. In a fairly short period of time there was substantially less product to buy and sell. This was a major blow to the seafood brokers who were dependent on substantial volumes of fish to support their profits. At the same time the local banking industry was reeling from heavy losses sustained in the collapse of the real estate market. These circumstances prompted the banks to establish severe limits on the ability of these seafood brokers to borrow working capital. This in turn resulted in the brokers to placing limits on their credit terms and focusing their sales towards better established companies. The result was the closing of many of the start up firms from the 80's who were dependent on credit to support their businesses.

Once again the Pier Fish Company had found itself in a favorable position. Although they experienced a decline in their whole fish business due to less fish being landed, the company remained healthy. A strong independent financial position enabled them to purchase whatever fish they needed to service their traditional customer base of restaurants, institutions, and retail markets. In fact, this end of the business began to grow with increased demand from new customers. As many of the upstart businesses from the 80's closed their doors, Pier Fish Company stepped in to fill the void.

As landings declined, prices began a steep climb; this situation enabled fishing vessels to hold on by receiving more money for less fish. Unfortunately this situation created problems for businesses that serviced modest priced markets. High-end restaurants and retailers were willing and able to pay whatever was necessary to obtain product and in turn passed these prices on to their customers. This prompted seafood businesses to look for new sources of reasonably priced product. Increasingly fish from Alaska, Russia, Norway and Iceland became staples in the Boston Market. Once again, financial health was a major issue for businesses who desired to purchase product directly from these new sources, given the strict credit requirements in place.

Seeing an opportunity, Pier Fish Company became involved with buying and reselling product from these sources to their whole fish customers in Boston. There was a high demand for product but the margins were short and many of the customers were not in good financial condition. This led Pier Fish Company to look to new markets to sell fish. The company had long serviced local retailers but they began to recognize a growing opportunity to sell major food retailers. Supermarket chains up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest had long been dependent on fish coming from Canada. Given the decline of that supply they were anxious for new alternative sources of product. At the same time all this was happening, Pier Fish Company was once again facing a move. The building where they were located at 145 Northern Avenue was taken by eminent domain in 1995 to make way for the new connector road to the Ted Williams Tunnel and an expansion of the Mass Transit System.

Faced with the need to move and the changes in their business, the five Barry Brothers contemplated their alternatives. Expansion of sales to Supermarkets required much more processing and packaging of product than the company had previously done. The facility at 145 Northern Avenue was becoming much too small. This prompted the company to take over the space next door after that company closed its doors. At the same time the company was actively involved as part of the New Boston Seafood Center Project. Unfortunately this project had numerous obstacles and moving at a slow pace. At the same time Pier Fish Company was experiencing a rapid growth in sales and needed more space. The company desired to remain on the South Boston waterfront but given the changes occurring in the area, there were no other alternative sites to locate their business. Given the immediate need to move to support their sales growth, the company purchased a facility at 10 Newmarket Square and completed a major renovation of the building to bring it in compliance with new federal food safety regulations. Pier Fish Company moved to their new location in June of 1997. Pier Fish also felt a market presence was needed in upstate New York thus opening their first satellite sales office in Buffalo, New York in that same year.

Adjacent to the new Pier Fish Company property is a fairly substantial piece of property owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) consisting of abandoned railroad tracks. Pier Fish Company agreed to lease the property and received a right of first refusal if it were to be sold. The business continued to grow at a rapid pace and had once again outgrown their facility. They negotiated with the MBTA to purchase the property as well as planning for a major expansion of their facility. The proposed addition would triple the square footage of the existing facility and potentially double the number of persons employed. The new facility would allow Pier Fish Company to meet the existing production demands as well creating the opportunity to diversify the business in new directions. Unfortunately after three years of negotiations with the MBTA to purchase the property, the agency has decided to open the sale of the property to a public bid process.

Given the delays on moving forward with the Boston project combined with the uncertainty of the bid process, Pier Fish has decided to look in a new direction. The company has focused its sights on the purchase of a 50,000 square foot facility outfitted for seafood processing. This facility located on the New Bedford waterfront would enable the company to meet the demands of their business almost immediately as well as providing for growth and diversification. Upon close analysis, adding a second facility in New Bedford presents additional benefits. The city has embraced the development of fish processing and there is an experienced labor force. New Bedford is the largest fishing port on the East Coast and with steady improvement being realized in the condition of the fish resource, the city will be an increasingly important source of supply. A facility in both Boston and New Bedford would certainly help tackle the ongoing quest for quality seafood for their customers.

Pier Fish Company with its long tradition in Boston plans to maintain their current facility to benefit from the important distribution access that city offers. Expansion into New Bedford will offer new access to product and the ability to expand their sales as well as offering the opportunity to add to their product line.

In June of 2001 Pier Fish Company purchases and opens its 50,000 square foot processing facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts; thus taking Pier Fish to the next level of becoming the Best purveyor of quality seafood in the United States

With markets increasing the need to be available in other States, in 2002 Pier Fish opens its second satellite sales office with Columbus, Ohio. Pier has always had a belief in having a market presence in the Central States, now it has a foot print for the future.

In 2006, the Pier Fish Company opened its third satellite sales office with Parrish, Florida. It's been said, "As the population moves, we must move with it." Florida has a great need for quality seafood and what better company then Pier Fish to provide for that need.

Entering into 2010, Pier Fish Company celebrates their 100th Anniversary. At this time of celebration, the third generation begins to teach the fourth generation the family business.

Third Generation of Barry Family