Singfield pursues passion with Albany Fish Company

ALBANY — As Glenn Singfield II talks about his new venture, the 1921 Dawson Road Albany Fish Company, which opened Dec. 12, he grows emotional.

“It’s so amazing to have this dream of mine come true,” Singfield says, his eyes welling with tears. “But to have this opportunity to reach this point with my mother and father. … On the day we opened, I believe both of our dreams were fulfilled.”

The menu board at Albany Fish Company is like nothing in Albany’s metro area, an area teeming with restaurants. Among the items listed are fresh red snapper, talapia, croaker, sheephead, salmon, and shrimp, oyster and catfish po’ boys. And, Singfield notes, that descriptor “fresh” is not just for show.

“Less than 24 hours ago, the fish we serve were swimming in the Gulf (of Mexico) or the Atlantic,” he says. “My father (Glenn Singfield, the principal with Artesian Contracting) or I meet a commercial fisherman around Apalachicola (Florida) to pick up our delivery for the day.

“Man, when it comes to fresh seafood, all you need is a little corn meal and some hot grease. Nothing tastes better.”

Singfield opened Albany Fish Company two weeks ago to little fanfare. He sent out word on Facebook while his parents, Glenn and Tandra, spread the word by telling friends. On opening day, between 30 to 40 customers came in. By the next weekend, he sold out most of his catch on Friday and all of it on Saturday.

“It’s been amazing,” said Singfield, who is called “Deuce” by his father but prefers “Chef G.” “I casually sent out a Facebook message, and on that first day (local businessman) Ravii Givens ordered food for the people in his office. He came in after work to get one of my chef’s specials, and he ordered more for the office the next day.

“I can’t tell you the number of people who’ve came in here since then and said, ‘Ravii told me the food was great here.’”

Singfield grew up in Albany, his Chicago-born mother and Augusta-native dad settling in Southwest Georgia in 1974. Glenn I made his name in the construction business, while Tandra owned and operated National Formal Wear. The tight-knit family, which also includes Deuce’s younger brother, Gerard, influenced greatly the man that Glenn II would become.

“I know how blessed I was to come from a very close family,” he said. “When you look at the statistics — how around 80 percent of African-American children come from single-parent homes — it makes me even more grateful.”

There weren’t a lot of females in the Singfields’ extended family, so Deuce was the one who was “chosen” to help out in the kitchen. It soon became apparent he was in his element there.

“I worried that cooking wasn’t ‘masculine’ enough at first, which was really silly,” Singfield says. “But I found out I really liked cooking. I started making cheese and eggs when I was 8 or 9, and by the time I was 11 I started cooking full meals. Soon, it wasn’t enough just to cook a meal that tasted good. I started ‘plating’ the food; I wanted it to appeal to the palate and the eyes.”

Singfield moved to Atlanta and found quick success in the mortgage sales industry, using the skills he’d picked up while earning a computer information degree at Albany State University to advance to a management position within six months. But the mortgage bubble burst, and Singfield found himself looking for new employment.

Glenn I encouraged his son to go after his passion, and Singfield enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Atlanta.

“I didn’t learn how to cook there, I learned how to cook professionally,” the chef says.

But entry-level jobs in the food industry did not offer Singfield much opportunity to make an adequate living, so he found work in health insurance sales.

“I came home and talked with dad about where I was headed,” Singfield said. “I told him how unfulfilled I felt. We talked about my dream of opening a restaurant, and he said, ‘If you do this, I don’t want you half-stepping.’ I knew I wanted to do something epic.”

They found the ideal location — “on a busy road, in the middle of the city, near water” — and the Singfields together started chasing Glenn II’s dream.

“My wife and I know Albany is such a good place for business, we weren’t afraid to venture out here,” Glenn Singfield I said. “God blessed us with the resources to help our son do this, and it’s been a pleasure for us to see him grow from a caterpiller to a butterfly, ready to spread his wings.”

On a recent rainy afternoon, former Albany Mayor Willie Adams was among a group waiting for orders at the Albany Fish Company.

“This is something Albany has needed for a long time, a quality fish market on the west side of town,” Adams said.

“I really like the family atmosphere,” said customer Kayla McKinney. “I haven’t seen any other place quite like this in Albany.”

Singfield said opening Albany Fish Company is the initial phase of his and his family’s long-term plans.

“We’ve worked out a plan for 3 months, 6 months, 2 years and 5 years down the road,” he says. “At two years, we want to have a full-service restaurant. But this is a great start. One of the things I’m proudest of is that I have five employees, so this business is not just about me and my family. It’s an opportunity for five other families as well.

“I am so excited every day about coming to work now. I wake up in the morning, shower, then get on my knees and thank God for what I have. I have a job I love now, and it’s something I did with my family. It’s fun to go to work these days.”