Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Ash Wednesday finally upon us, it marks the start of the observation period of Lent for many people of Christian faith around the world.
Here in Western New York, Lent also also kicks off fish fry season for many people who observe the time leading up to Easter.
While fish fries are very common and popular as they are in the Western New York region, Lent always forces bars and restaurants, fish markets and churches to kick it up a notch to produce as many fish fries as possible.
"Our Fridays are always rocking and rolling here at Hayes," says manager of Hayes Seafood House in Clarence, Nick Pyzikiewicz. "We pump out fish fries all day on Friday, every Friday, but once Lent hits, it doubles. It's a wild time. A lot of prep, a lot of frying, a lot of fish fries."
While the workload for businesses tends to double once Lent kicks off every year, many places eagerly await business to pick up with more and more people coming out for a popular delicacy in the area.
"We've been looking forward to it," says Head Chef of Hoak's Lakeshore Restaurant in Hamburg, Mike Chuchla. "We're going to get a little jumpstart [Wednesday] being Ash Wednesday, so we get a good crowd that comes in for lunch and dinner. Then Friday, we'll really get crankin'. We'll have a lot of fish for takeouts, as well as people coming in."
While many restaurants and fish markets get ready to mingle with the community, offering fish fries during the Lent season, many local churches and other congregations are getting ready for the usual rush of people flocking in for a good fish fry.
"We are expecting pretty much the same traffic that we've had in previous years, and looking forward to having the drive-thru fish fry for our parishioners and community," said business manager of St. Christopher's in Tonawanda, Marie Schwab.
While fish fries are quite the popular commodity, there is no denying the price of fish has gone up for not just patrons of bars, restaurants and churches, but also for those needing the supply of fish during Lent.
"It's been tough this year. It's gone up, at least, $2 more per-pound than it used to be," Chuchla said. "We've had to make some price adjustments, as well, which is tough, because our customers [are] loyal. They come in, and when they see the price jump a little bit, we have to explain to them, but they're pretty understanding about that, which helps, and they continue to be loyal, which is great."
"Since Hayes was established in 1877, it's always been about quality. We always search for the the top-quality haddock out there," Pyzikiewicz said. "Haddock has gone up, but not as substantial as other seafood that we sell."
What has attributed to the rise in price of fish, which then leads to the price increase with fish fries for the public?
"Fishermen weren't fishing for some time, so the backup supply and a lot of the fisheries has diminished," Pyzikiewicz said. "Certain fish are easier for us to get, since we get everything direct from Boston and Iceland, that we haven't had too much of an issue. But as far as fish and prices in general, gas has gone up, everybody knows. Shipping prices have increased on our end. Everything that we see going up across the board has contributed to everybody, everybody in the restaurant [business] increasing price."
Many companies have been affected by the global issues that are impacting many businesses around the world. For restaurants and others dealing with fish fries this time around, it is all the same as many with supply chain issues, inventory and other attributes that are putting a strain on every business in these difficult economic times. All of this stemmed and still can be traced to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Everyone's been impacted by this, which is unfortunate," Chuchla said. "But it's not just fish, everything's going up. You name it, sour cream, mayonnaise, even the oil that we cook the fish in. We try and use a superior brand of oil; that's why everyone loves our fish fries, because we have good oil that we cook it in? And that's doubled in price. It's crazy."
Sadly for many, it's not just the fish or other ingredients that have increased in price at this time of year.
"I'm not 100% sure if it's a supply issue. I do know that for the paper products... a couple of the things that really have gone up in price is the cooking oil, and even the french fries have gone up a lot," Schwab said.
"The main thing that increased is takeout containers, price of oil, breading, all the higher end ingredients that we use to make our fish fry taste great," Pyzikiewicz said. "We absorb some of that cost, but we did have to increase the price a small percentage."
So what are some of these local establishments and congregations offering at this time of year, when it comes to selection of fish? While haddock is the preferred and popular fish for many restaurants - breaded, broiled or beer battered - there are other options that will be available for many patrons this Lent season.
"We're going to have different fish served weekly on Fridays for people to try out, different fish sandwich choices, and a lot of people like salmon and stuff like that," Chuchla said. "We're going to be offering a lot of that throughout Lent, especially on Fridays."
"For senior centers, if people put a large order pre-ordered a couple of days ahead of time, we would prepare 40, 50, 60 fish fries together and have them ready for pickup for a large group order, if that's something that people wanted to have a fish fry on Friday," Pyzikiewicz said.