Tasty Treat in Louisville

Shuckman's Fish Company & Smokery sells homegrown caviar fit for a king and priced for a peon.

Fish tremble at the sound of my name," says Lewis Shuckman. So they should, because this Bluegrass dynamo of a man sells some of the finest smoked fish around.

The third generation to own this Kentucky family business, Lewis offers smoked trout, spoonfish, salmon, and largemouth bass in the retail store located on Louisville's West Main Street, as well as by mail. It's his latest endeavor, though, that has made waves in a territory previously ruled by the Russians: caviar.

"We've made the front page of The New York Times with our caviar," says Lewis, blue eyes dancing with delight. "And Charles Gibson on Good Morning America thought it came from the Caspian Sea. But it was ours."

The humble Kentucky spoonfish, farm raised in the Bluegrass State, provides the eggs used in Lewis's caviar, which sells at a reasonable $30 for a 2-ounce tin. The Russian product can cost more than $100 per ounce.

"It doesn't have to be expensive to be good," asserts Lewis. And he's more than willing to offer shoppers samples of his fishy fare and even throws in helpful hints regarding its storage and uses.

"A lot of people take a parfait glass and layer cream cheese, smoked trout, and caviar in it," he says. he adds that caviar has a twoweek shelf life and that one should always use a mother-of-pearl spoon to scoop it out to avoid giving the dainty dish a metallic taste.

Gaining Ground

Lewis acknowledges that the Russian "roe-lette" has been hard to change. "I've been thrown out of a lot of kitchens," he says with a smile. "But after we showed what we could do, all these people who threw me out their back doors asked me in the front."

Recently, he entertained a group of Ukrainians in Louisville. "I couldn't understand a word they said, but we had a good time," says Lewis. "They drank a lot of Finlandia vodka and ate lots of caviar."

Family Affair

Helping Lewis in the business started by his grandfather in 1919 are his mother, who still works one day a week; his wife, Vicki; and his daughter, Lauren. Lewis gradually changed the focus of the store from groceries and meat to fish. Smoked salmon runs $5.13 for 4 ounces. Spoonfish costs $3.42 for 4 ounces. "We ship all over the country, including Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico," Lewis says.

And does the Kentucky entrepreneur still like his caviar? "I eat it every week," he says. "My cholesterol was checked two weeks ago, and it was 135.1 eat lots offish and caviar."

Shuckman's Fish Company & Smokery: 3001 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40212; (502) 775-6478 or www.kysmokedfish.com.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved