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Berke and Benham is a new seafood shop opening at 1925 Monroe St. 

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If all goes well with its buildout, a new seafood store aims to open by May 20 at 1925 Monroe St. Berke and Benham, located next to Brasserie V and the Good Day Shop, will offer fish from the owner’s previous company, Wabash Seafood in Chicago.

“It’s a different seafood market for Madison,” said owner Jim Berke, who relocated to a farm in Mount Vernon with his wife and their grown kids last year. “I haven’t found one with the same model. I want new and interesting stuff, items that people in Madison haven’t had a chance to eat a lot and try.”

Berke has been in the fish business about five years, working primarily in Chicago and making deliveries there and in the wider Madison area. For Berke and Benham — Benham is a family name on his wife’s side — Berke plans to continue to get seafood from Wabash, which sources fish from around the country and internationally as well. He’ll also work with Fortune Fish, Red Cliff Seafood Company in Bayfield and “mom and pop suppliers across the country.”

“There’s an American eel supplier out of Maine, I plan to stock their product,” Berke said. “There’s another company out of Maine that sells only seafood from the Gulf of Maine, and the woman who owns and runs it (Jen Levin) is a Madison transplant.

“Knowing the supplier and how you want your fish brought in really matters.”

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Berke will bring most of his fish in whole and cut them onsite. This preserves the quality of the fish and can mean they’re out of the water for less time.

Berke and Benham will have a dry goods section sourced through Chef’s Warehouse, featuring spices, rubs, oils and vinegars, “everything to complement the fish you buy,” Berke said. For now he does not plan to have prepared foods.

Berke makes regular direct seafood deliveries through Berke and Benham, but when the shop is fully open those will likely have to slow down. Like many in the food industry in Madison (and around the country), he’s been struggling to find staff.

“I have some people lined up but I want to make sure everybody has proper days off, including myself,” he said. “I want to make sure that we’re able to get good fish, and timing in fish is important.”

Berke is excited to be on Monroe Street, near Trader Joe’s (“there’s a cult following”) and Orange Tree Imports (“a staple”). He believes his customers will be his best marketing, but he acknowledges that fish can be a tougher sell in parts of the Midwest.

“I think just getting people to try it — and if they’re talking to you, they’re open to it,” Berke said. “I can tell you, ‘this fish came from Florida out of the water on this day.’ I have access to that information. I can tell people how fresh it is. I want to have a little bit of show and tell.”

Berke and Benham plans to be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (subject to change).

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