Great Food is Born From a Commitment to Skill & Craft

vintage photo of women working with smoked salmon

Two men slicing salmon for smoked salmon

Three family members making smoked salmon

vintage photo of man hanging fish to make smoked fish

Craft

The highest quality ingredients. Time-honed techniques. Unyielding attention to detail. Seriously great smoked fish comes from a continuous commitment to craft.

Connection

Like great food, passion is better when shared. It’s the connections between our coworkers, customers, and communities that inspire innovation.

Continuity

A taste that transcends generations. It doesn’t come from sticking to the status quo or stifling change. Our legacy endures—because we push it forward.

Four Generations of Friendly Fish Experts

For over one hundred years, through four generations of family ownership, over countless bagels, appetizing platters, and boroughs, some things hold true. We’ve been singularly focused on producing great smoked fish. And as the friendly fish experts, we pride ourselves on doing it the best. For our neighbors, who line the block on Fish Friday. For our restaurant and grocer partners, who fulfill our founding dream and nourish our communities. For every gathering, meal, and moment, big or small, that becomes a cherished memory. And while our hundred-year legacy is something to be proud of, we’re not about to rest on our laurels. Instead, we choose to see each day as our opportunity to create something worthy of the title “Great Food.” The kind of great food with the power to bring people together.

Generation 1

After immigrating from Russia, Harry Brownstein hits the streets of Brooklyn with a horse-drawn wagon and a dream: to create his own smoked fish business. He starts small, distributing fish from the local smokehouses to stores throughout the city. But he dreams big, forging partnerships and making first forays into manufacturing with an eye toward the future. He faces stiff competition and fails more than once. But driven by passion, grit, and a scrappy Brooklyn spirit, he perseveres.

Generation 2

The dream has a name—Acme. Best in the business. First in the phonebook. With his sons Joe and Morty, Harry begins smoking fish in 1954 at 26 Gem Street. A young upstart in an old industry, Acme struggles to pick up steam. But instead of packing it in, the team—now four men strong with Harry’s son-in-law Rubin Caslow—battens down the hatches, focusing on perfecting their craft as they transition from seller to maker.

Generation 3

With a new generation at the helm—Rubin’s sons Robert and Eric Caslow and Harry’s grandsons Marc and Gary Brownstein—Acme makes a name beyond New York. Between burgeoning partnerships with supermarket chains, an expanded factory, and the innovative use of vacuum-pack technology, it’s only a matter of time before Acme’s diversified product line (Pickled herring! Salty belly lox!) makes it out from behind the deli counter and in front of smoked fish lovers everywhere.

Generation 4

Moving into the next century, Acme looks to the horizon with a respect for tradition and an innovative spirit. With David Caslow, Adam Caslow, and Emily Caslow leading the way, Acme meets the growing appetite for high-quality, premium-crafted smoked seafood by opening state-of-the-art processing facilities in North Carolina and Chile. As its fourth generation ventures into the global seas of change, supporting sustainable practices across the world, Acme never loses touch with its roots. With a commitment to quality as its compass, Harry’s family smokehouse continues to center craft and celebrate community, near and far.

The Values We Share

IMPROVING IS WINNING

We’re hungry to learn more, welcoming every day as an opportunity to improve our craft, sharpen our skills, and do better for our community.

WOW THEM WITH QUALITY

We hold ourselves accountable to exceed expectations and deliver the highest quality outcomes across everything that we do.

PASS THE PASSION

We're obsessed with bringing passion to the table, celebrating our traditions, and inspiring each other to innovate.

CITIZENS OF SEAFOOD

We’re committed to turning the tides against climate change—innovating our practices to craft a sustainable, socially responsible future for our people, our products, and our planet.

EVERY RELATIONSHIP MATTERS

From passionate conversations with our coworkers to deli-counter chats with our community, we put our all into every interaction. We’re not just here to craft the best smoked fish—we’re here to craft genuine connections and meaningful experiences.

As Citizens of Seafood, we strive to do right by our people, our communities and our planet by putting social responsibility and sustainability at the center of our decisions. We take action toward sustainability through four core pillars: responsibly sourced seafood, recyclable packaging, low-emissions facilities, and a reinvestment in our people by supporting our teammates, their families and the communities where they work.

Sustainability

While we work on our own sustainability initiatives, we’re also encouraging our community to ride the same wave. Between our Education Fund to help Acme families with schooling and our Seafood Industry Climate Award to support carbon-reducing initiatives and minority-led companies, we’re taking steps (and strokes) toward a stronger, more innovative industry.

Philanthropy

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