Samuels Advantage

Pushing product through the streets of Philadelphia, Giuseppe was a young fish monger with a dream. Moving from Sicily, Italy, Giuseppe envisioned owning and growing his seafood business to provide for his family in America. Working day and night, he devoted his life to catering to his customer’s seafood needs. Slowly but surely his business grew and so did his family. Giuseppe, his wife Concetta, and their four children all worked hard together to establish Ippolito’s, Philadelphia’s corner seafood retailer. Giuseppe was a hardworking man and he was my grandfather.

At the age of 13, my mother Rose, my grandfather’s eldest child, managed the store on 13th and Dickinson. She soon became immersed in the seafood business, buying and selling with her father. She eventually ran the whole business. As business was booming, our growth increased and so did our family. Everybody in our family worked in the business; my uncles, aunts, cousins, and myself. No one was exempt, and we soon found seafood to be our entire family’s way of life. We worked, ate, and loved seafood.

As I was a young boy in the ’60s, seafood was more than a part-time job, it was a passion. Unlike most kids, I didn’t play with toys, I played with the fish. When my mom was at work, I would try to guess what fish were on display. With all the different colors and shapes, “Fisher-Price” had nothing on Ippolito’s! I loved being in the store, and my grandfather knew it. He developed a relationship with me as he did his seafood, with love and patience. After losing his only son, I would become the heir of Ippolito’s.

School didn’t interest me; only the fish business did. With fish consumption growing in the U.S., I knew I was in the right place to be, so I followed my dream. We began to see many different species into our little corner store in South Philadelphia. As our selection grew, so did our customer base. We soon had local chefs coming to us for their seafood needs.

In 1974, Giuseppe retired and moved back home to Sicily. I then graduated from Central High School and started the manage Ippolito’s with my mother. By 1989, the business had grown so much that we had to find a new location. We decided to start a separate company ‘Samuel’s and Son Seafood’. This new company would concentrate on the wholesale business and Ippolito’s would continue its success in the retail trade.

There were some struggles along the way, but we always made it out strong. My wife Donna was always by my side, sacrificing a lot to make it work. Raising a family of four children, we are still ever-growing our family business in the seafood industry.

– Sam D’Angelo, Owner

Benefits of Seafood

If you are looking for a flavorful, easy to prepare dish with perfect health benefits, seafood is the tastiest way to go. Recommended by the USDA, you should include seafood into your diet 2 – 3 meals a week for maximum health benefits. Currently some…

Sustainability

With over 80 years of experience sourcing responsibly harvested species, our team has been putting sustainability at the forefront of our business philosophy since the beginning. Those values of respect and appreciation for the sea brought over from…

Live Product Holding System

We pride ourselves on utilizing the newest technologies and processes to bring our customers the freshest and highest quality product. The dual process bacteria maintenance system retains proper levels of nitrites and ammonia sustaining a bacteria …

Ozone Water Sanitation System

Ozone water sanitation is one of nature’s most powerful sanitizers. Ozone is an organic sanitizing technology that has been safely used for years at municipal water facilities and bottled water plants. Samuels and Son Seafood uses this “green” techno…

Samuels Advantage

Samuels Advantage

Benefits of Seafood

Sustainability

Live Product Holding System

Ozone Water Sanitation System

Quality Assurance

Community

History