Burhops Fish & Seafood of Hinsdale

Information may not be reliable

Order your baked-in-a-bag pies for Thanksgiving by Nov. 19
Appetizer ideas: Smoked Salmon, Burhop's Shrimp, Burhop's spreads, oysters on the half shell--there's more than the turkey to be thankful for!
EAT MORE FISH!

For years, when passengers alighted from the State Street bus between Ohio and Grand in Chicago, the driver didnt announce a street name or an intersection, he opened his doors and said Burhops.
A Chicago institution since 1926, when Albert E. Burhop (Pops) set up his wholesale distribution business at 545 N. State Street, Burhops went into the retail business more or less by accident. According to Alberts son Vern in 1985, The area around the State Street store was once a lot more residential. People saw the fish being taken in and out - through the front door in those days - so they walked in, slapped down some money and took some home. The demand grew, so we finally installed some counters and made it part of our business.
When Pops opened his business, refrigeration was basically ice in a truck, and seafood was not an easy commodity to move around the country. Then Clarence Birdseye of vegetable fame developed the plate freezer, and Pops, who knew Mr. Birdseye, started using this technology to bring perishables such as shrimp and lobster into Chicago. In the 30s, shrimp of any size sold for 9 to 10.5 cents per pound, lobster at 25-30 cents per pound.
Vern, who died in 1995, started working for his dad when he was 14, in 1929, at the start of the depression. In order to keep the company afloat, everyone gave up one paycheck a month until the economy improved. After working seven days a week for many years, in the mid-30s Pops decided it was time to hand the business over to Vern, so without any warning, he did and left that day. Fresh out of the U of Illinois, Vern was literally dropped into the deep end, trying to pretend to business associates that his dad was still coming into the office. Pops did return to the helm during WWII, so that Vern could serve in the US Navy in the Pacific.
Jeff Burhop and his younger brother Jim started working for their dad on school vacations, joining the firm full time when they were done with college and grad school. They encouraged their father to expand the retail business, which they did, by opening stores in the suburbs. After Verns retirement in the early 1980s, the old wholesale business was closed down, and some of the stores closed or changed ownership. The two stores which remain owned and operated by Jeff Burhop are located in Glenview and Hinsdale.
We Get Fresh Daily
Still in the wholesale business, Jeff Burhop supplies his own stores, as well as other retail seafood and specialty stores. Why is Burhops still around after all these years? Honesty, and great service, according to Jeff. Weve always tried to have the best products for our customers. We dont pretend one kind of fish is another kind of fish, and when we advertise a sale price its for fillets. Some retailers advertise a cheap price, but if you read the fine print, its whole fish. With certain fish, by the time its filleted you loose 60% of the weight, so the whole price is no bargain. Also, when we say our fish is fresh it is - not thawed out frozen fish in a fresh fish case.
Our staff is trained to provide real service - we get to know a lot of our customers by name. We can help customers with recipes, cooking tips, party menus. We will specially portion, bone and skin the customers fish, and we usually do it all with a good sense of humor. If people want something special for a party, with a few days notice we can get almost anything, as long as its in season.
After all these years, our goal is still the same as it always was - provide the best fresh seafood, the most helpful and knowledgeable staff, and the information and ingredients our customers need to have a successful seafood meal every time they come in.

FISH IN THE NEWS
Because we think its important for everyone to have access to scientific research regarding the benefits of eating seafood, we will be providing links to published studies for visitors to our web site, so that you can read more about ways in which eating fish may affect your health. Click on a link below to see the complete articles weve found on the web. To return to our site, click on back on your menu bar.

EATING FISH: HEALTH BENEFITS AND RISKS
A comparison of the benefits of a diet that includes fish and shellfish on a regular basis verses any minor risks that may or may not exist.
To read the full article, go to

EATING FISH HELPS WARD OFF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
Eating fish has been shown to be an important part of your diet when it comes to preventing Alzheimers Disease.
To read more, go to

SALMON THE SUPER FOOD
For a wealth of information about the health benefits of eating salmon, we recommend the web site of Salmon of the Americas. This organization represents the salmon farming industry in North and South America. These are fish farms that have the best environmental practices.
For recipes and health information, go to www.salmonoftheamericas.com
Articles posted will be from reputable scientific journals and from sources considered reliable; we claim no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the material.