Wulf’s Fish Market to Close as Company Amps Up Wholesale

Wulf’s photo via Flickr user Jeremy Brooks / Creative Commons

Some bittersweet news for seafood fans: Wulf’s Fish is closing its landmark Brookline market after 90 years, and transitioning its focus to wholesale.

Wulf’s is opening a new facility on the Boston Fish Pier to grow its wholesale clientele beyond such acclaimed restaurants as Jean-Georges, Daniel, ABC Kitchen, and the French Laundry, the Boston Globe reports, including selling flash-frozen filets to high-end retail stores. The staff, including 40-year head cutter Rick Taylor, are making the move with the company.

Mike Geraty, Wulf’s owner, has made the decision because of a change in customer shopping patterns, he told the Globe. While Wulf’s is a multiple Best of Boston-award winning shop and a chef favorite, the Coolidge Corner specialty shop is losing out on business to upscale supermarkets, like Wegman’s and Whole Foods, Geraty said. Like the old adage goes, if you can’t beat ’em, get your fish into their coolers.

“We are growing this business in order to bring this consistency and quality to a larger market,” Garaty said. “Don’t fight the trend of … these nicer, one-stop shops that sell everything of high quality. Don’t fight it — let’s try and figure out a way to sell our high-end product to them.”

Wulf’s Fish Market in Coolidge Corner shutters for good on May 13.

409 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-277-2506, wulfsfish.com.