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Acme Smoked Fish Corp.

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Acme Smoked Fish Corp.
IndustrySeafood
Founded1906
HeadquartersBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
ProductsSmoked salmon, smoked fish, pickled herring
Websitehttps://www.acmesmokedfish.com/

Acme Smoked Fish Corp. is the largest producer of smoked salmon in North America,[1][2][3] and is also a manufacturer and seller of pickled herring and other smoked and cured seafood products. Acme Smoked Fish has US-based facilities located in New York City, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Florida, as well as international locations in Chile and Denmark. Acme Smoked Fish Corp. is a privately held, family-owned company, that has been headquartered in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn since 1954.[4][5]

History

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Harry Brownstein founded what would eventually become Acme Smoked Fish in 1906, shortly after emigrating from Russia.[6] In Brownstein's early days buying and selling smoked fish in Brooklyn, he did so from a horse-drawn wagon throughout several Brooklyn neighborhoods before setting up a brick-and-mortar location in the Brownsville neighborhood during the 1930s.[6] In 1941, Rubin Caslow of Arcee Sales, a prominent smoked fish seller in Brooklyn at the time, joined Harry Brownstein's smoked fish company after marrying Charlotte Brownstein, the daughter of Harry Brownstein.[7] In 1954, Acme Smoked Fish was officially incorporated and began manufacturing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the company's current international headquarters.[8]

In 1966, Acme's Brooklyn facility had to be rebuilt after a major fire destroyed the plant.[9] Soon after the reconstruction of the facility the company began its pickled herring division. In 1969, Acme Smoked Fish founder Harry Brownstein died,[10] leaving the company to his sons Joseph and Morton Brownstein and son-in-law Rubin Caslow.[6] In 1975, to accommodate growth and increasing production requirements, Acme purchased the building next door to their Brooklyn facility, bringing the company to occupy a full New York City block.[11]

In 1970 and 1972, respectively, Robert and Eric Caslow joined Acme Smoked Fish as the company's third generation of owner operators.[12] In 1978 Acme Smoked Fish introduced its first commercial line of consumer packaged good smoked salmon and lox products.[13]

Acme Smoked Fish acquired another company for the first time in 2007 with the purchase of Great American Smoked Fish of Pompano Beach, Florida, establishing a new headquarters for Acme Smoked Fish of Florida, LLC, which began as a regional distribution center in 2005.[14] In 2015, Acme opened the largest smoked salmon facility in the United States in Wilmington, North Carolina.[15][16] Also in 2015, the company opened Acme Chile in Puerto Montt, Chile, making Acme Smoked Fish Corp. multinational for the first time in the company's history.[17][18]

In 2019, Acme Smoked Fish acquired Spence & Co. Ltd. of Brockton, Massachusetts.[19][20][21] In 2020, Acme made another acquisition in the form of a majority stake in Norlax A/S, a producer of smoked fish products based in Outrup, Denmark.[22][23][24] Currently, Acme Smoked Fish is managed by its fourth generation of owner operators, Adam Caslow, David Caslow, and Emily Caslow.[25][26]

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Acme Smoked Fish partnered with New York City-based Zucker's Bagels in 2018 in an attempt to make the world's largest bagel, cream cheese, and smoked salmon sandwich. The final product weighed 213 pounds.[27] The attempt was featured on Inside Edition, but was never certified as a world record by Guinness World Records.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Tran (k_tran), Kim (May 24, 2021). "Acme lands new branded smoked salmon items at Costco, Whole Foods | IntraFish". IntraFish | Latest seafood, aquaculture and fisheries news. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Acme opens largest U.S. smoked salmon facility, expands into Chile | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "RUBIN CASLOW, 86: Tireless businessman: ran smoked-fish empire". Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada]. April 14, 2007. pp. S9.
  4. ^ Fortney, Luke (May 28, 2021). "Legendary Acme Smoked Fish Will Expand and Stay in Brooklyn". Eater NY. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Marx, Rebecca Flint (December 7, 2012). "A Factory Where Lox Is the Lure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Gergely, Julia (May 25, 2022). "47-year veteran of Brooklyn's Acme Smoked Fish celebrates his final 'Fish Friday'". Times of Israel. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  7. ^ Fox, Margalit (April 12, 2007). "Rubin Caslow, 86, Leader of a Smoked-Fish Dynasty, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish's humble beginnings and Fish Fridays". Red Hook Star-Revue. November 4, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  9. ^ Gurkov, Chaya (December 9, 2020). "ACME Fish Company Has Lox to Say About Expanding". politicsny.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  10. ^ "Harry Brownstein". AncientFaces. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  11. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish's Special Fish Friday This Week Honors Gary Brownstein's Retirement". Greenpointers. May 18, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish Co-Chairman Eric Caslow dies | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "Factory Tour: Acme Smoked Fish Corporation | News". www.specialtyfood.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  14. ^ "Smoked Fish Purveyor Nets Pompano Beach Industrial Building". The Real Deal South Florida. December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  15. ^ "Acme opens largest smoked salmon facility in US | March 19, 2015 | Food Engineering". www.foodengineeringmag.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Company plans to bring $400M investment, 1,000 jobs to area". WilmingtonBiz. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "Acme opens largest U.S. smoked salmon facility, expands into Chile | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish". FishChoice. April 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Evans, Owen (October 24, 2019). "New York's Acme Smoked Fish aqcuires Scottish salmon smoker". SalmonBusiness. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  20. ^ Dumlao, Doris C. (August 12, 2011). "Alliance closes deal with Spence & Co". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  21. ^ Corporation, Acme Smoked Fish (October 24, 2019). "Spence & Co. Ltd. Joins Acme Smoked Fish Corp". Perishable News. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  22. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish acquires majority stake in Norlax A/S | SeafoodSource". www.seafoodsource.com. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  23. ^ "Acme Smoked Fish Acquires Stake in Norlax A/S". SeafoodNews. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  24. ^ "US smoker Acme invests in Denmark's Norlax". Undercurrent News. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  25. ^ "Spotlight: Adam Caslow Carries on 'A Lox' of History at Acme Smoked Fish". 6sqft. June 3, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  26. ^ "Lox, Stock, and Barrel: Hotelie Runs Fourth-Generation Food Firm". Cornellians | Cornell University. February 3, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  27. ^ "This Giant 213-pound bagel & lox may have just set a new world record". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  28. ^ Tremble Before the World's Largest Lox and Bagel Sandwich, February 12, 2018, retrieved July 12, 2022