Seafood inflation means a pricier Feast of the Seven Fishes

Seafood prices rising

Inflation has hit Italian American families who celebrate Christmas Eve with the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

SYOSSET, N.Y. - A fish market just days before Christmas is all hustle and bustle.

But the co-owner of Syosset Seafood says prices are up this year. A lot of his seafood comes from abroad, and what he charges is dependent on his suppliers.

"I would say because what's going on in other countries – and they're raising the prices that's the main reason," Euclides Sandoval said. "Things are not the same anymore. A lot of the prices went up so we are trying to keep it stable as much as we can."

Prices aren't stopping shoppers from coming out to the store, though. The Italian American tradition called Feast of the Seven Fishes takes place this Friday and is always on Christmas Eve. It's a cherished feast for so many families, usually consisting of at least seven different seafood dishes spread out over the dinner table.

"We get all different types of shrimp, flounder, clams, muscles, calamari, scungilli, baccala, lobster, everything," Long Islander Brianna D'Orazio said.

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"If you can sum up Italians, what they treasure, it's food and family," another Italian American woman told us.

Syosset Seafood is still busy but it's also seeing a lot of changes to orders. Sandoval said some customers downsized orders and others postponed their celebrations.

"I would say because [of] what's going on with COVID right now, they're probably afraid," he said. "That's the main reason."

Inflation hits restaurants and bars

Inflation is affecting families and businesses nationwide. Owners of restaurants on Long Island say their costs have shot up but they can only raise prices so much before patrons decide they can't afford that burger and beer.