A local business is assisting Morris Park and neighboring communities for an annual Christmas tradition.
Giordano’s Big G, a meat and fish wholesale warehouse and market located at 1554 Paulding Avenue, is specializing in seafood to help local customers continue the Italian Christmas tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
For the annual holiday tradition, Giordano’s Big G is selling various kinds of seafood (at a discounted price), such as king crab legs, shrimp, calamari, tilapia, filet of sole and baccala (salted cod), the latter of which is very popular among the Italian population.
For 2020, Giordano’s Big G owner Carl Giordano has expanded his offerings to also include red snapper plus new types of crab and fillets.
The fish merchant also reminds that he can produce any orders fresh on 24-hours notice, but still says that “the best stuff comes frozen,” referring to ninety percent of non-local catches such as Alaskan king crab and other kinds of Brazilian fish.
Giordano’s Big G, who has been a part of the tradition for 25 years, is also selling lobster tails of all sizes, including tails which also hail Brazil – they are considered to be among the best warm water lobster tails in the world. He also sells baby, one-ounce lobster tails.
Giordano, who has the seafood imported from other nations such as India, Vietnam and Canada, among other countries, said that the market gets more and more involved in the tradition with every year that they participate.
“It’s a good feeling, especially during this time of year, to help continue a holiday tradition,” said Giordano, who has been in business for over 40 years. “Each year, we (Giordano’s Big G) find ourselves becoming more and more involved and each year, we find ourselves decreasing the prices from the year before.”
“We are here to provide the community with all of the seafood they need for the holidays, whether they are Italian or not.”
Giordano originally started the business from a truck in the mid-1970s, selling meat to restaurants and hotels before moving the business to 3434 E. Tremont Avenue in the early 1980s.
In the mid-1990s, he moved the business to its current location in Morris Park.
Currently, Giordano’s business, which also sells beef, pork, lamb, veal and poultry as well as frozen and fresh vegetables to restaurants and hotels as well as supermarkets, delis and street fair carnivals, is one of the few businesses in the area that has a butcher on the premises seven days a week that will custom cut all meats to order.
They are also one of the biggest Sabrett Hot Dog distributors in the Bronx.
Originally an Southern Italian tradition, the Feast of the Seven Fishes includes the serving of at least seven different kinds of seafood at a dinner or a grand meal on Christmas Eve.
It is believed that the fish part of the tradition stems from the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Christmas Eve, while the number seven refers to the sacraments.
