First look: Calumet Fisheries reopening on Saturday after fire: ‘It’s been a stressful six months’
Calumet Fisheries will reopen this Saturday.
The historic James Beard award-winning seafood restaurant on the South Side of Chicago closed temporarily after a fire on Nov. 21.
“We had an electrical fire,” said Mark Kotlick, president of the family-owned takeout business in the South Deering neighborhood, perhaps best known for its smoked fish and fried shrimp. The fire broke out around 1 p.m., but no one was injured. “We had a mass response from the fire department, about a block away from us, with 10 firetrucks, 40 or 50 firemen, and they were able to save the structure, but pretty much the entire interior and all the equipment was destroyed.”
The smokehouse itself, however, was not touched.
“It’s kind of funny when you put a fire into a building and it stays OK,” Kotlick said. “But yeah, that little structure’s been with us for close to 100 years now.”
The smokehouse still stands just outside the restaurant, next to the 95th Street bridge overlooking the Calumet River, across from the new kitchen door.
“Everything’s new,” Kotlick said about the interior. “We had 100-year-old walk-ins, with wooden doors and wooden walls, and now I’ve got the new energy-efficient stainless steel walk-in coolers.”
They did not expand, though, and there’s still no seating inside.
“Because we own the building, but not the land,” he added. “So we cannot expand on the footprint of the building.” They did conform to Chicago building codes, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for accessibility.
On the other side of the building, the iconic signage has been restored by artist Casey King, who also re-created the menu boards inside.
“And he did it to a tee,” Kotlick said. “You wouldn’t know the difference.”
Calumet Fisheries will get its first food deliveries in six months on Friday. They’ll cut fish, sew the fish to hang in the smokehouse, then put it in brine.
Manager Javier Magallanes will fire up the smokehouse with their traditional oak logs to smoke shrimp, then he’ll smoke fish early on Saturday.
“And we should have the smoked fish out by I’m going to say anywhere between 1 and 2 o’clock,” Kotlick said. And breaded shrimp, frog legs, smelt, oysters and scallops will be waiting to be fried to order, he added.
There will be picnic tables on the smokehouse and bridge side.
“People really enjoy that instead of going into their cars,” Kotlick said. “Or throwing a blanket over on the grassy area, or bringing chairs, or I always recommend going to Calumet Park, which is two minutes away just over the bridge to look at Lake Michigan.”
Calumet Fisheries will reopen to the public at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“We’ve kind of been on our COVID hours,” Kotlick said. “We were closing at 7 in the evening, but now we’ll stay open till 9:45 at night. And we think it’s time to do that.”
What does he think he’ll do when he walks back in with everything back up and running?
“Well, I’ll probably cry,” he said, his voice breaking. “A lot of things got damaged. And I’m not even sure if our James Beard award is clean enough to put out.”
“And our prized Anthony Bourdain poster that he signed for us,” he added. “Where he wrote down ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’” (Full disclosure, I appeared with the late chef and author at Calumet Fisheries in the Chicago episode of his television series “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” on the Travel Channel.
What wasn’t damaged in the fire was the Honorary Carlos Rosas Drive street sign in front of the store. Rosas was the manager and beloved as the Calumet Fisheries ambassador who died at 41 after six weeks of hospitalization from complications related to COVID-19 in 2020.
“That’s still up and shining away,” Kotlick said.
It’s been a stressful six months, he added. They had about 15 employees at the time of the fire, and 10 have come back.
The store originally opened in 1928.
“And in 1948, my grandfather purchased it for my dad, Sid Kotlick, and my uncle, Leonard Toll, to run the store, have a business and provide for their families.” They had framed photos hanging of his father and uncle with employees who worked with his family for 30, 40 and 50 years.
What does Mark Kotlick plan to have first?
“I’ve thought about that,” he said. “I asked Javi, can you ask our vendors if they can get some chubs? Wouldn’t that be unbelievable to have that for the opening? But we’re not.”
Chubs are the golden smoked fish that were once their bestseller, but scarce now, so he has different plans.
“I’m gonna throw a couple of shrimp in, a couple scallops in, some smelts and I like our calamari,” Kotlick said. “So I’ll do a little seafood buffet for myself.”
3259 E. 95th St., 773-933-9855, calumetfisheries.com
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