An annual Christmas tradition is being continued by a business in Morris Park.
The Italian Christmas custom of the Feast of the Seven Fishes is still strongly supported by local meat and fish wholesale warehouse and market Giordano’s Big G, located at 1554 Paulding Avenue. The business has specialized in this celebration for the past 25 years.
Giordano’s Big G, who has been a major food distributor in the east Bronx for the last four decades is currently selling various kinds of seafood for the holiday season, such as lobster tails, calamari, shrimp, king crab legs, octopus, filet of sole and tilapia.
Many of the lobster tails, including baby, one-ounce lobster tails which are priced at $2.each, are imported from Brazil. Other seafood is imported from India, Vietnam and Canada.
The market/warehouse also sells baccala, a salted cod which is very popular among Italians, especially during this feast.
Giordano’s Big G, which also sells beef, ham, lamb, pork, poultry ribs and veal, is a full service warehouse that has a butcher on the premises seven days a week and provides express delivery to all local businesses. They also sell frozen and fresh vegetables, bread, milk and cheese, as well as produce, along with many staple items that can be found in supermarkets. They are one of the largest Sabrett Hot Dog distributors in the borough.
This year, Giordano’s Big G is offering a free shop at home service, where customers can call in their grocery orders and have it delivered directly to their door, with a minimum order of $50. Giordano’s Big G will delivery to all addresses in Morris Park and Throggs Neck and most neighborhoods in the south Bronx.
The business is also offering a ‘buy one, get one free’ for many items during the holiday season.
“It’s important to not only acknowledge this part of the Christmas tradition – but to also be able to provide the seafood for our customers so they can celebrate this tradition properly,” said Carl Giordano, owner of Giordano’s Big G. “At this location, our customers know they will be able to purchase quality seafood in a timely fashion at a great price, especially during this time of year.”
“This year, customers don’t even have to leave their homes to make a purchase – and that can be essential during the holidays, when time can be limited,” Giordano added.
Prior to starting his own business in 1973 at age 18, Giordano gained experience as a teenager working as an assistant manager at Met Food supermarkets, which were located at 204th Street and Mosholu Parkway and Williamsbridge Road and Pelham Parkway.
Giordano originally started his wholesale business out of a van, and then a truck, delivering meat to restaurants and hotels in the Bronx and Westchester County. He previously managed stores in both Mount Vernon and Peekskill, before primarily focusing his business in the Bronx.
The business was located on East Tremont Avenue in the early 1980s, before moving to its current location on Paulding Avenue in the mid-1990s.
Giordano Big G’s is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes, a southern Italian tradition, includes the serving of at last seven different kinds of seafood at Christmas Eve dinner. It is a common belief that having fish on Christmas Eve stems from the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat.
The number of fishes (seven) is believed to refer to the seven sacraments of the Catholic church.
