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Behind the Line: All in the family
Massachusetts' Turner's Seafood changes through generational shift
By Lauren Kramer
September 01, 2009
It's often said one should never mix family and business,
but there are some instances when that mixture just seems to
work. The Turner brothers of Melrose, Mass., are a perfect
example. Three of the four Turner brothers are deeply
entrenched in the same industry their grandfather entered in
1954 when he began Turner Fisheries, a wholesaler supplying New
England seafood to restaurants nationwide.
James F. Turner's timing had been impeccable. As the
commercial airline industry took off in the 1960s, Turner
Fisheries quickly became a pioneer, flying fresh seafood to
America's restaurants and clubs. When Turner died in 1964, Bill
Stride was appointed to lead the company and in time, Turner's
son, John F. Turner, was promoted to help him run the business.
They led Turner Fisheries until 1990, when the tide changed and
new fishing regulations made it impossible for Turner Fisheries
to continue functioning. The doors closed on that chapter, but
a new one opened in the form of wholesaler J. Turner Seafoods
of Gloucester. The business is 15 percent the size of its
predecessor, with
50 customers and annual sales of $3
million.
Today, the business also includes Turner's Seafood Grill
& Market, a restaurant in the family's hometown of Melrose,
Mass., and a retail store in Gloucester that opened in 2006,
called Turner's Seafood Market and Fish Fry. (The upscale
Boston restaurant Turner Fisheries at the Westin is no longer
linked to the family.)
"There was no pressure for us to go into the family
business," recalls Jim Turner. He and his brothers spent their
summers during high school and college working in the business
their father took over from his father. Though there was no
predetermined plan to follow the elder generation's career
path, all four sons gravi tated back
to the family
business
after completing college. One broth er, John, later left the
business to move to Stowe, Vt.
Today, Jim, Joe and Chris share the business
responsibilities with their spouses. It remains very much a
family affair, but without many of the problems that plague
similar businesses. "I attribute that to how we were brought
up," Jim says. "We were brought up with the understanding that
nothing is really as important as the relationship we have with
each other.
"We're not ones to scream and argue," he continues. "If
there's frustration between us, in time it goes away and we
gradually get back to normal. But it doesn't happen all that
often, probably because we give each other a lot of space and
respect in the jobs we are all performing."
Jim sources product for the wholesale company and the
restaurant, while his wife Kathy is the business' accountant.
Joe is general manager at the restaurant. Chris is in charge of
facility maintenance and purchasing at the restaurant, and his
wife Shelby runs the front of the restaurant, managing the
service staff.
One advantage of maintaining a relatively small,
family-owned operation is the level of attention the brothers
can give to the business. "We're out early in the mornings
checking the quality of the seafood we use and processing
things ourselves," Jim says.
Crabs, for example, undergo an eight-point inspection with a
family member overseeing quality, storage, processing,
portioning and preparation. Fish are inspected by a Turner
buyer at the dock, again as it's unloaded, re-iced and stored
in the cooler and again before it's processed.
"All fish are scrutinized as they are individually skinned,
boned and in some cases, candled," says Jim. "Then they are
hand-
selected before packing under ice and shipped in
refrigerated trucks."
When deliveries are made to Melrose, receivers and prep
cooks inspect the fish before portioning them for the market or
kitchen. The head chef performs a detailed line check before
lunch and dinner service, and during that service all chefs,
line cooks, expediters and servers are trained to ensure that
all the products meet Turner quality standards.
Running a restaurant is hard work and the hours are long,
Jim admits, but it's more profitable than the wholesale
operation. "It just seems that customers more easily understand
and value quality in the restaurant versus the wholesale
business," he says. "Especially in this economy, there is
tremendous pressure to keep wholesale prices down."
That pressure was one of the reasons the restaurant was
created. J. Turner needed a new customer for its wholesale
business and it made sense to create a new restaurant to fill
the gap.
"There's a tremendous challenge in the wholesale business
when it comes to finding customers who truly want quality
seafood and are willing to pay a higher price for it," says
Jim. "Everyone starts off talking quality, but when price
is brought up there is almost always a resistance to the price
difference."
That's because in the wholesale fish business, there always
seems to be someone selling the same species for less money.
"The temptation to go with the less expensive product is
incredible," he continues. "Those customers who truly
valued quality and were willing to pay for it were clearly the
most successful and this fact is what gave us the motivation
and courage to open our own restaurant."
While the hours are more preferable in the wholesale arena,
Jim says he and his brothers truly enjoy both aspects of their
business. "To us they are so connected it's impossible to
separate them," he adds. "We wouldn't operate the restaurant if
we weren't supplying its seafood."
Contributing Editor Lauren Kramer lives in British
Columbia