Fisher Avenue

Fisher Avenue

For first time visitors, the busiest avenue in Crown Heights is Franklin Avenue. For those who make Franklin Avenue part of their daily routine, it has another name—Fisher Avenue—unofficially of course.

As soon as you step foot off of the 2, 3, 4 or 5 trains on Franklin Avenue, Fishers Supermarket and The Pulp and The Bean—Tony Fishers prized coffee shop, welcome you. Often times, he will be on the sidewalk with a large smile, saying hello to everyone who passes by or comes into one of his stores. The majority of people will pass by and initiate a conversation with him, and Tony will always have kind things to say.

This pleasant and welcoming approach by a local business owner in a small New York City neighborhood is somewhat uncommon. Tony is a different breed of businessman; kind and generous; young and full of new ideas; but at the same time when it comes down to it, he is serious about what he has become so passionate about.

Tony himself is not a resident of Crown Heights, yet he has given so much to the neighborhood. Tony Fisher’s father opened Pioneer supermarket on Franklin Avenue, two blocks away from the current Fishers supermarket in 1971. Two years later in 1973 Tony was born. This might explain Tony’s dedication to the neighborhood; he was born into the business. He spent his entire childhood on Franklin Avenue, much like his children do now.

In 1981, Tony’s father opened what is now Fishers Supermarket. Tony–whose real name is Ahmad Rabah–claims he has been running the show for quite some time. “At ten years old I started working in the store, at 15 I knew how to run the entire store and at twenty, I was the main man.” Tony says that he changed his name to Tony Fisher because customers had difficulty with the name Ahmad Rabah, “It was easier for them to identify with Tony,” states Mr. Fisher.

Tony is an incredibly diverse person. He speaks 5 different languages; English; Spanish; French; Hebrew and Arabic. He has 7 brothers and sisters as well as 5 children. The large family could possibly be a large contribution to his business success. He is a people’s person who can relate to most anybody.

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Fishers Supermarket and The Pulp and The Bean Coffee Shop

Tony officially became storeowner when he was finishing college and his father was planning on retiring. Wanting to retire but not sell the store, Tony stepped up and took it over. Tony’s Brother Mohammed is the main operator of the original store across the Parkway–Pioneer Supermarket.

A few years ago Tony began to think of something to do with the small storefront they had available on the same block as the supermarket. It had just been used as storage, but struggling financially, it was time for something more financially wise to be done with the space. Tony was apprehensive about the idea at first, but eventually it was The Pulp and The Bean coffee shop that Tony would place inside the empty space.

“I wanted to sell the space,” states Fisher, “but no one legitimately approached me about the spot.” The only trouble Tony ever ran into with opening the shop was with the finances. “Financially I wasn’t ready, but I had to do something with the space,” claims Fisher. When asked how he expected business to be when he opened the store he replied, “I had no idea what to expect.”

Earlier in the year, Tony started selling a 10$ cup of coffee. Crazy? No. The 10$ cup of Ethiopian originated coffee was a way for Tony to raise money for the Ethiopian Children’s Fund. When people realized why he was doing this, the delicious coffee started selling rapidly. After just a few hours of it being sold, the store had sold nearly 20 cups of the coffee. Tony’s philanthropic contributions don’t end at this.

The Crow Hill Community Association has seen support from Tony Fisher and his family ever since it was organized claims Mr. Fisher. “My father gave them their first ever financial support and we continue to give them financial support today.” “Any time they have an event we try to help cater to them. And we do it free of charge.” Tony doesn’t receive any financial benefits from all of his philanthropic efforts so what is it that drives Tony to help out? “That’s the way I was brought up, you always have to help the people who are less fortunate than you,” says Fisher.

Tony also supports local Religious Institutions. Tony sponsors the local School for the Deaf by supplying the Turkeys and other foods at their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

There are 3 other coffee shops within two blocks of The Pulp and The Bean but Tony believes that his business does very well for the way he has approached it. “As a whole, my business stands on its own. I have a unique business model that these other shops do not have. Sometimes they take cheap shots at me and claim that I am the McDonalds of Franklin Avenue–some corporate Monster–but that’s not the case,” states Fisher. “I welcomed these other stores with open arms and all they ever did was bad mouth me.” Tony also stated that he tried to partner with the Lily and Fig–who makes specialty cakes and pastries–but was turned down by the owner.

Tony emphasizes the fact that he is very friendly with all the other shop owners. “I’m on a first name basis with 99 percent of the store owners on Franklin Avenue, I am here for them for any kind of support they need.”

Aside from being friendly with other local business owners, Tony expresses his importance on becoming friendly with all the local residents. “My business depends on it, so I try my hardest to please everyone.” When asked if he thought that he was successful at making the locals happy, he replied with a smile, “I hope so.”

Tony travels to work every single day, very early in the morning from Bay Ridge. You will see him behind the counter at the coffee shop at 6 in the morning some days. Tony has thought about moving to the neighborhood but states that it wouldn’t be easy. “I have thought about it a lot, but it would be a big move because of the kids. I would need 6 bedrooms for all my kids,” states Fisher. “But I’m definitely on the look out for a place, I would much rather walk to work then drive.”

Tony is very dedicated to Crown Heights and he isn’t done quite yet. “I plan on renovating the supermarket, making it more trendy for the new people moving to the neighborhood and to give them what they are looking for,” he claims. He even has thought about opening a few more coffee shops. “Maybe a couple more Pulp and Beans,” he concluded with a large grin.

It hasn’t been the easiest thing for Tony to manage all of his businesses. He has seen his fair share of violence and potential disasters in his day. “I have had shoplifters come in here and when I catch them they try to start brawls.” At this point, Tony’s eyes are wide open with vivid memory. “One time a guy came in here and put a gun to my head, I snatched it out of his hand and pointed it right back at him until the cops came.”

When I asked him if he has dealt with anything of the sort recently, he acknowledged that there were far fewer dangerous situations but that he feels that now the neighborhood is dealing with young high school gangs who are starting to cause problems with local businesses.

When asked if there was one thing he wanted everyone to know how he felt, Fisher was very passionate in response. “People do a disservice to their neighborhood when they shop out of the neighborhood. They take their money to places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. They should support local business and keep the money in the neighborhood. It helps everyone in the end.”

Tony is very passionate about keeping everything in the neighborhood. “I always make it a point to hire within the neighborhood, I want to have everything local.” This kind of approach to his business is very family-like and is the kind of business more people should start thinking about operating.