About Empire Fish Market

WHAT IS FORTUNE FISH & GOURMET
Fortune Fish & Gourmet is the Midwest's premier fresh and frozen seafood processor and specialty food distributor servicing Michelin Star restaurants, James Beard Award winning chefs, hotels, country clubs and grocers from our facilities in Bensenville, IL and Minneapolis, MN.  Founded in June of 2001 under the leadership Sean O'Scannlain, Fortune has grown to become one of the largest seafood and specialty food distributors in the country and a leader in the industry.  Fortune handles over 8,000 different products including a Gourmet Foods division, which supplies gourmet specialty foods selected to exceed the high standards embraced by our quality driven customer base.  

Fortune Fish & Gourmet's Bensenville facility is minutes from O'Hare International Airport, downtown Chicago and a network of highways to reach suburban and out of town markets.  This location allows us to optimally deliver the freshest product possible via a fleet of refrigerated trucks that travel throughout the Midwest.  Our state of the art facility is equipped with the leading seafood industry software, Seasoft, providing us full traceability on each product shipped from our warehouse.  The Minneapolis facility is equally centrally located to service North and South Dakota, Iowa, Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Fortune also owns two retail stores in Minnesota, called Coastal Seafoods, please visit coastalseafoods.com for more information.
         
Our team of employees is dedicated to providing Fortune Fish & Gourmet customers with the freshest product and unparalleled service. Supplier relationships are paramount to our success and the Fortune buying team has forged strong relationships with the best fisherman, aquaculture operations and artisan producers in the world. Fortune's unmatched sales team and support staff is available nearly around the clock to take customers' orders and answer questions.  The production team fillets, scales, pin-bones, skins and portions all orders by hand to ensure that product arrives to our customers in the best condition possible.  We also offer education opportunities to Fortune customers through the "Fortune Fish School" program, where we visit customers to educate their staff on seafood topics important to their business.
         
Driven by a belief in the numerous benefits of seafood consumption, Fortune sets high sustainability standards aimed at healthier oceans and in turn healthier people.  We have partnered with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership for our sustainability program.  They helped us develop a comprehensive Sustainable Seafood Policy.  They are also a partner in our Sustainability Initiative that promotes a product currently in a FIP or AIP for two months to increase awareness and increase sales of that product within their customer base.  We are MSC and ASC certified and a founding member of Sea Pact.  We recycle and compost in our offices and are working towards zero food waste in our plant.  All of our seafood trim, bones and heads are turned into organic fertilizer for organic agriculture and any product that is not perfect for our customers, although perfectly delicious and healthy, is donated to Care for Real Food Pantry.  In light of current climate change, Fortune upholds the importance of investing in sustainability to ensure the availability of a healthy food supply for generations to come. 

OUR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHIES & PRACTICES

• Source the finest and freshest quality products
• Hand select unique, artisan gourmet foods
• Purchase top of the catch. minimize the days out of water
• Build long term relationships
• Purchase domestic whole finfish
• Utilize airfreight
• Offer our customers seasonal fresh products
• Be leaders in our industry
• Support sustainable products
• Never disappoint our customers
• If it’s not fresh don’t ship it