Our family’s history in the seafood business in New York City dates back over a century. Around 1920, Sam Randazzo, our great-great grandfather, opened the family’s first seafood market on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. After more than a decade on the Lower East Side, Sam moved the family business along with his wife and four children to Sheepshead Bay, a fishing community located on the South side of Brooklyn, in 1932. At the time, the area was primarily farmland and dirt roads with fishing boats and a few local businesses occupying the waterfront.
The new fish market was located on Emmons Avenue near Sheepshead Bay Road. Over the next thirty years, Sam and his family sold fresh fish and seafood to the local community, and they expanded the business by adding a lobster market next door. Sam’s daughters, Mary, Elena and Anna, developed an interest in the family business and learned how to cook using their Grandmother’s recipes. In addition to raw seafood, the family began using their recipes to serve specialty dishes, such as fried calamari (Gal-a-Mah) with spicy tomato sauce.
In 1959, Sam’s daughter Elena opened another location on Emmons Avenue with her husband, Paul Geraci. This location was mainly a fishermen’s bar where Paul served drinks and Elena, also known as Helen, made Gal-a-Mah served with the family’s red sauce. Helen’s specialty dishes became popular with the local fishermen and other Brooklyn residents in the surrounding communities. As the Bay became more developed and the business gained popularity, the location underwent an extensive renovation in 1964 that included the installation of a clam bar, a large stove for Helen’s kitchen. Helen also expanded the menu to include shrimp, mussels, scungilli, raw clams and baked clams. This is how Randazzo’s Clam Bar was born.
Helen and Paul went on to have four children of their own named Jacqueline, Frank, Paul & Rosemary, who all took an interest in the family business. During the 1970’s, they opened a full Italian restaurant, and another fish market. By 1982, our family had five different businesses in Sheepshead Bay that were run by Helen, and her daughter Jacqueline, our Grandmother. By that time Jackie had given birth to our father, Paul, who assisted in managing the businesses with his cousins through the 80’s and 90’s. This was the time that most of our loyal customers remember best. The Emmons Avenue restaurants and shops were packed every night of the week.
Our current location has been on Emmons Avenue since 1986. Over the last thirty-seven years, the Randazzo family has continued to serve our loyal customers with the finest quality of seafood New York has to offer. Our goal is to continue this tradition by always providing great customer service and customer satisfaction. We are proud and honored to be part of a hundred year old family legacy that we hope will continue for another hundred years as the sixth generation of Randazzo children become a part of the family business and the Brooklyn community.
