NEW ORLEANS – Fortune International — an Illinois-based processor, distributor and importer of seafood, meats and gourmet products — has announced the acquisition of New Orleans Fish House, a supplier of wholesale seafood and specialty products to chefs and restaurants in the Gulf South. NOFH owners Bill Borges, Brett Borges and Cliff Hall will remain with Fortune. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1990, NOFH specializes in Gulf seafood, beef, lamb and other proteins. The family-owned and operated business has expanded from a small seafood house in New Orleans into a supplier to restaurants, retailers and wholesalers from eastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
NOFH said it is one of the largest purchasers of yellowfin and blue fin tuna from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the largest purchaser of red fish in the United States. Local restaurant customers include Acme Oyster House, Commander’s Palace, Restaurant Revolution, GW Fins, the Dickie Brennan Group, the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Emeril’s Restaurants and Drago’s. Hotel customers include the Hilton, Hyatt, Windsor Court, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.
Fortune plans to increase sales in the region by cross-selling and “increasing logistics efficiencies and route synergies.”
“We are thrilled to welcome such an esteemed local company as New Orleans Fish House to our growing Fortune family,” said Sean O’Scannlain, president and CEO of Fortune International, in a press release. “NOFH has earned a reputation for top-quality products and service to the country’s most demanding chefs, restaurateurs and retailers, and together we can use that strong foundation to further expand our operations in the Gulf as well as deepen and expand our existing customer relationships.”
The transaction marks Fortune’s third in 2022 following its acquisition of New Jersey-based D’Artagnan Inc. in March and D’Iberville, Miss.-based North Bay Seafood Inc. in May. Since the launch of Fortune’s acquisition strategy in 2012, the company has completed 15 acquisitions. Fortune is the parent operating company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a full-service processor and distributor that provides restaurants, private clubs, hotels and gourmet retail stores with the fresh, live, and frozen seafood and gourmet foods. For more information, visit www.fortunefishco.net.
