Anastasi Seafood on S 9th St
A People of Bella Vista Feature
by Larry Lindsay, for the BVNA Historic Committee
Salvator Anastasi and his sister, Janet Stechman, own Anastasi Seafood at the corner of 9th and Washington, a fish and seafood purveyor with a restaurant on the side which has the heritage and the feel of the historic Italian Market.
Their great-grandfather, Thomas Anastasi, started the fish business in the
early 1900’s making it one of the oldest, if not the oldest, business in the
market community. Thomas and his wife had six children five of them boys.
Eventually three of the sons formed their own businesses, selling fruits and
vegetables in the market, and the other two, Salvator (the current owners’
grandfather) and his brother Freddie, sold fish. So began the legacy. In
alternating generations one male Anastasi is either a Thomas or a Salvator.
Scores of Anastasi children have been raised in the Italian Market seafood
business, including the current owners who started working in the market
before they were teenagers; their own children have done so as well.
Before COVID, it looked like Anastasi Seafood (at least the fresh fish store) would lose its corner location due the proposed development of the large lot on the east side of 9 th street south of Washington Avenue. Anticipating being relocated, Salvator and Janet acquired another location on 9th Street north of Washington (at 1039) for the fish store. They both hoped the restaurant might be accommodated in the new project and stay where it is. Now, however, it is their understanding that the project is “on hold” and they are content to stay as is as long as possible.
During the pandemic, although their restaurant was closed for six months, their fresh seafood business thrived as people prepare meals at home including lots of fish and seafood. “Our fresh seafood business has doubled,” said Salvator, “and we have gained many new and now familiar customers,” added Janet.
Authentic, relaxed, and unpretentious, with diverse patrons is the impression one has on their first visit to this neighborhood establishment. “We have Sicilian ancestry”, smiled Salvator. “Sicilians are a mixture of many peoples. Everyone has occupied Sicily at one time or the other” (he is right: the Greeks, the Romans, the Ostrogoths, the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs, the Normans, the Ottoman Turks, the Hapsburgs, and others since) “Sicily is like America, and everyone is welcome in this establishment.” says Salvator, and you can feel his sincerity.
To many current and former Philadelphians, including occasional celebrities “who are treated like everybody else,” coming back to Anastasi’s to buy fish for the holidays or to have dinner, is like coming home. “We have many loyal customers whose families have been coming here for generations. Some even take pictures of us with their families just as their parents and grandparents did,” says Janet, clearly proud of their place in this City’s history (she has old photos of Anastasi ancestors framed on the walls) as well as the consistently excellent quality of the food and dining experience that they have provided over many years.
Once, while hosting an old friend visiting from Paris, France, my wife and I
took him to Anastasi’s. As we sat outside on a hot summer night with the rain beating down on the metal awning, eating oysters, and sipping the house white, he said “You are lucky to have this place.”