Where does your fish come from? East End Fish Co. wants Richmond to know.

RICHMOND, Va. — Ask Forrest Spaits what Richmond should know before buying seafood, and his first piece of advice comes quickly.

"I think it's important to know where all your food comes from, at least the most that you can," Spaits told Eat It, Virginia podcast co-hosts Robey Martin and Scott Wise. "If you want better seafood, talk to your fishmonger, someone who knows where it comes from, someone who can help you with recipes and tell you about the different things."

That's the idea at the heart of East End Fish Co., the seafood business Spaits operates inside The Market at 25th at 1330 N. 25th St. in Richmond.

Spaits said he buys from Virginia fishermen when he can and otherwise turns to regional wholesalers.

His display resembles the seafood counter customers might find at a traditional grocery store, but Spaits also makes a point of offering species shoppers may not immediately recognize.

While salmon and shrimp are predictably his biggest sellers, Spaits has also carried sugar toads, the tails of northern puffer fish, and talks customers through how to prepare them.

"They're sweet," Spaits said. "They're almost like little fish lollipops, like a little fish chicken wing type thing."He said getting customers to try something local is part of what he's trying to accomplish.

Running a fish counter wasn't always Spaits' career plan.

Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Spaits grew up around Rudee Inlet and said he developed an appreciation for fishing and seafood as a child.

His mother spent about 15 years working at Il Giardino Ristorante, and Spaits remembers being around restaurant kitchens growing up.

After attending Randolph-Macon College, Spaits settled in Richmond and embarked on a career in accounting, including jobs with Need Supply Co. and Common House.

"I just always knew the whole time doing accounting, I was like, 'I don't want to be doing this,'" Spaits said.

During the pandemic, he became interested by tinned fish and that led him deeper into the seafood industry and eventually to a more practical question: What did his own neighborhood need?

Spaits, who lives in Church Hill, said he noticed there was nowhere nearby for him to buy fresh fish, with many options concentrated in Richmond's West End.

An encounter with the then-CEO of The Market at 25th helped provide an answer. Spaits said they met at a food event, where he explained that he was trying to launch a fish business but couldn't find a space. The conversation led to an opportunity at the market.

"I've been there a little over a year now," Spaits said, "and, you know, just taking a day at a time."

Initially, Spaits operated his seafood business at the market one day a week while working at the University of Richmond. He said he began running East End Fish Co. full time in February.

The career change has involved financial trade-offs.

"I'm definitely not making as much as I was before," Spaits said.

For Spaits, East End Fish Co. is also connected to a larger conversation about Virginia's seafood industry.

During the podcast, Martin and Spaits discussed efforts around Rudee Inlet to improve infrastructure available to commercial fishermen.

Spaits said improved infrastructure could give fishermen more opportunities to unload seafood there and reduce some of the steps between the boat and customers.

That matters in Richmond, he said.

Spaits described a scenario in which he could travel to Virginia Beach, pick up seafood shortly after a boat arrived and bring it directly back to his Richmond customers.

"When you're able to tell that story, that's where the sales come in," Spaits said.

That locally focused industry extends beyond fish. The conversation also touched on Virginia's oyster and clam industries, including Cherrystone Aqua-Farms on the Eastern Shore.

For Spaits, getting shoppers interested in a greater variety of that seafood remains part of the challenge.

Cobia, for example, hasn't moved as easily as he expected, he said.

Higher-priced fish can also be more difficult to sell.

Spaits said cobia in the $27-to-$30-per-pound range has moved more slowly amid economic pressures.

He's also interested in experimenting with spiny dogfish, a type of shark that has not developed the same market among his customers.

Spaits suggested its lower price could give him room to experiment with recipes and offer samples to help customers become more comfortable with it.

What should you look for when buying fish? For shoppers who don't have a fishmonger they know, Spaits said the process can begin by asking questions.

"Where does this come from?" is the first.

Then ask whether it's fresh.

When looking at a whole fish, Spaits said shoppers can also examine whether the gills appear fresh and ruby red and whether the eyes are clear.

And don't be afraid to ask to smell it.

"It's not a weird question," Martin said.

"It's what you should be asking," Spaits replied.

Spaits also encouraged customers to support fishmongers in their own communities, specifically mentioning Tuckahoe Seafood and Shoreline in addition to his own business.

"If that's your community and that's your local fishmonger, go there, support them," Spaits said.

What's next for East End Fish Co.?

Five years from now, Spaits' definition of success isn't exclusively about money.

He said he wants to become more involved with the broader Virginia and U.S. seafood communities and collaborate with people trying to improve food and seafood systems.

But he has ideas for the business, too.

Spaits said he'd love to eventually have his own East End Fish Co. shop along Jefferson Avenue near Spotty Dog Ice Cream Co. He is also interested in premium seafood, techniques such as dry aging and seafood charcuterie, and developing Virginia-focused packaged seafood products.

For now, though, he's behind the counter at The Market at 25th, trying to get Richmonders to learn a little more about the fish they're taking home for dinner.

And perhaps to try something beyond salmon and shrimp.

East End Fish Co. is open at The Market at 25th from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is closed Tuesdays, Spaits said during the podcast. He also sells seafood at Birdhouse Farmers Market.

Listen to the full conversation with Forrest Spaits on Eat It, Virginia, hosted by Scott Wise and Robey Martin.