GREENFIELD — After more than three decades of serving hungry patrons, Pete’s Seafood Restaurant is for sale.
The School Street business, which began as Pete’s Fish Market before transforming into Pete’s Seafood Restaurant, has been a mainstay in Greenfield and expanded several times over its 33 years of existence under the guidance of owner Peter Ruggeri, a one-time Selectboard member.
For Ruggeri, the decision to sell the restaurant comes as he nears his 70th birthday later this year, the birth of his first granddaughter and as the desire to travel has grown.
However, Ruggeri said that his experience in Greenfield has been a good one as a business owner.
“It’s been great for me. For 33 years, I’ve been able to find great employees, people who have been with me for 20 to 25 years, and they’re a part of Pete’s,” he said.
The business, according to Ruggeri, began as Pete’s Fish Market in 1985 and is operated by him and his wife, Sandy.
Ruggeri said that initially the location was a retail fish market, with some food service and fish-frying offered at the location.
But as the business expanded, Ruggeri said, that the demand for more food services took over, and within five years, they transitioned to Pete’s Seafood Restaurant.
Pete’s continued to grow after that, Ruggeri said, adding a large dining room and eventually an outdoor patio.
According to Ruggeri, the initial site was about 800 square feet. Now, according to his nephew, Joe Ruggeri, the real estate agent handling the sale, the property is about 3,000 square feet.
“Over the years we’ve gone step-by-step and have gotten bigger,” Pete Ruggeri said. “It’s been an evolution over time.”
As a business in Greenfield that survived for more than three decades, Ruggeri said that the key to success has been focusing on quality customer care.
For instance, on a Friday afternoon, as patrons passed by, Ruggeri greeted them by name, talking briefly.
“It’s just been really listening to my customers and keeping them happy. It’s pretty simple, really,” he said of his key to success.
A group of regulars, known as the “Maries,” were also in the restaurant Friday afternoon and commented about how they feel about the restaurant.
According to the group, Pete’s has become their regular Friday lunch location, which began at least eight years ago.
The women commented on how good the food is but, more importantly, it seemed, they also commented on the atmosphere of the restaurant.
“They remember when we come in,” Isabelle Trosin, one of the women there Friday, said. “And when we don’t show up, they wonder where we were the week before.”
“It’s almost like group therapy sometimes,” Ann Skowron said.
“It’s much more than a restaurant,” she added.
And even though questions have arisen about the impact on retail locations in downtown Greenfield from online stores like Amazon, Ruggeri believes a place like Pete’s can still exist and succeed. This is because, Ruggeri noted, in spite of the fact that Amazon can provide groceries, places like Pete’s still provide what Amazon cannot — fresh food.
The only struggle may come from the fact that Amazon could pull shoppers away from the downtown area, Ruggeri noted.
The business is listed for $260,000, according to Joe Ruggeri, which includes inventory and fixtures, as well as a beer and wine license, but not the real estate.