Dean & DeLuca: Purveyors of Fine Seafood
Though Dean & Deluca started out as a bricks-and-mortar location in New York -- offering a wide array of food, wine and even kitchenware -- it's now one of the country's finest online grocers, particularly when it comes to fresh fish. As such, Dean & Deluca has earned a Luxist award nomination in the best online seafood category.
In 1977, Joel Dean and Giogio DeLuca started their company in a small shop in New York's SoHo neighborhood. In those days, SoHo wasn't the chic shopping enclave it is today; rather, it was gritty corner of the Big Apple. Jack Ceglic, Dean & DeLuca's founding partner, designed the first store to feel like a turn-of-the-century food department. Beneath the hum of high ceiling fans, shelves overflowed with rare artisan foodstuffs from flavored salts to cured meats.
As the years went on, Joel and Giorgio continued to expand their operation, adding another New York shop with four times the space of the original in 1988. Boutiques throughout the city followed, as did locations in Charlotte, Kansas City and Washington, D.C., and Dean & Deluca expanded its offerings to include fresh fish.
Today, patrons can order seafood from Dean & Deluca's website, which delivers to any location in the contiguous United States. All products ship fresh via next day air, including the three whole fish featured as Catch of the Day – Salmon from Scotland, Loup de Mer from Greece and Rainbow Trout from North Carolina. Technophobes need not fear: Dean & Deluca's store locations also offer a wide selection of seafood.
Vote for the Online Seafood retailer that you believe is the best of breed. The voting period runs through July 31 and winners will be announced on August 1.
