Catch Fresh And Local Fish At This New Bed-Stuy Shop

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Joey Lugo wakes up every morning at 2 a.m., gets in his truck, and drives toward fish.

“I hand pick it, I check it. Not only do I look at the eyes I look at the insides, I feel it, the texture, the smell,” said Lugo. “I select every piece of fish in this store.”

Lugo and his wife ‎Francine Delgado-Lugo opened Shipwreck, the new fish market on the corner of Greene and Bedford avenues, just last week, Lugo said.

Lugo, an alum of Fish Tales in Cobble Hill, decided about three months ago to open Shipwreck and meet the need in Bed-Stuy for “high-end fish at a friendly price,” Lugo said.

“I just wanted to bring that kind of fish store to this neighborhood,” Lugo said. “We needed it. It was missing.”

Shipwreck's fish comes from all over the world but, when he can, Lugo looks for fish that’s local — think the Long Island and Montauk sounds, not the Gowanus.

This means that fillets of local tuna, swordfish and lemon sole being sold at Shipwreck were probably pulled out of the water not that long ago, said manager Alex Ortiz.

“It goes from the water to your dinner table in less than a 24-hour time period,” Ortiz said. “It’s a win-win.”

The fish that Shipwreck doesn’t sell every day is donated to City Harvest, Ortiz said.

Shipwreck also serves prepared fish salads, smoked salmon, various fish accoutrements — such as gluten-free spice rubs — and freshly-cooked fried fish customers can enjoy at a long table in the front.

“There’s a small takeout menu with a catch of the day,” said Ortiz. “We batter it, fry it, serve it.”

The store opens every morning at 10 a.m., after Lugo has driven his hand-selected fish back from Hunts Point and gotten in training for his next Spartan race, he said.

“I rarely get any sleep,” Lugo said after unloading a crate of live lobsters into a glass case. “When you’re doing it for yourself, you get all the energy you need — it’s really nothing.”

Shipwreck is located at 1047 Bedford Avenue and open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, until 7 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Correction: The original version of this story misidentified Shipwreck's intersection as Bedford and Gates avenues.

Photos by Kathleen Culliton