Jensen's closing seafood business after 71 years Three generations have run legendary market/restaurant BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Theresa Semasko bought clam chowder at South River's Jensen's Galley for the last time Friday morning. "My son lives in Florida and he thinks that they have the best clam chowder," Semasko said. "So I buy it ahead of time and freeze it so he can take it down to Florida." Semasko is among the many who will miss the Ferry Street business, which opened as a market in 1936 and has been operated by three generations of the same family. The restaurant portion, which was opened in 1986, had its last day of business on Saturday; the seafood market will close on Labor Day. Borough Councilman John Krenzel described the business as an institution in the community. "I'm sorry to see that Jensen's is closing," Krenzel said. Gary Jensen, the proprietor of the family business that his father, Elmer, ran before him, and that his grandfather, Peter, opened seven decades ago, was preparing scrod fillet Friday as he discussed his family business in the fish market, from the days he and his father would deliver fish around town in the back of their truck. PHOTOSBY JEFF GRANIT staff Top, Gary Jensen prepares for the lunch crowd in the kitchen of his restaurant, Jensen's Galley, on July 26. The restaurant, which is considered an institution in South River, closed Saturday. Above, Dorothy Jensen, 82, places breaded scallops on a tray. "I used to go to Fulton's Market with my father and he used to do some off-premises catering for DuPont in Sayreville. The bigger companies used to have him come by." Now, Jensen wakes up at 1:45 a.m. twice every week to go to Fulton's Fish Market in New York City and bring seafood back to South River. He has been working an average of 80 hours a week ever since his father and two aunts stopped working. Such demands are part of the reason the restaurant is closing. Gary is not alone in putting in a hard day's work. For example, his mother, Dorothy, 82, works with her son an average of 60 hours per week. Dorothy recalled how her husband ran the business after taking it over from his father. "My husband said that he didn't want me to work, but he was lying," she said with a laugh. She has been working at the market for 60 years. Gary's children have pursued other careers. His daughter, Cori-Anne, is studying at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and his son, Patrick, is employed at JPMorgan in Columbus, Ohio. His oldest daughter, Brooke, is a music teacher in Edison. Brooke was helping her father in the market Friday, and described the business as part of the family's identity. She expressed mixed feelings about its closing. "We are proud of it," she said. "It will definitely be good to see more of my father and it will be a relief, but we will miss the food." The market is not usually crowded, but the restaurant tends to get a mad rush of patrons starting around 4 p.m. "When we are fully staffed, there may be 12 people working here on a Friday when were busy," Gary said. Lellie Bara, of South River, has been working at the restaurant portion since it opened 22 years ago. "It's been great," Bara said. "The people coming in are the greatest. They are from all around Sayreville, South Amboy and New Brunswick. We are the only place that serves fried clams." Mark Rotunno, a manager at the restaurant, expressed gratitude to the Jensen family for the opportunity it gave him. The 36-year-old South River resident has worked there since his junior year of high school 20 years ago. "I've seen a lot of people come and go," Rotunno said. Gary Jensen said he is looking to work in the seafood department of a chain market and is also considering opportunities to teach as a substitute English teacher. His wife, Lou Anne, is a teacher. Semasko, a Parlin resident, recalled when her family would get deliveries of fish from the Jensen family truck. She said her parents would post a sign on the front window of their home with the letter "J" in order to get weekly service. "I have been coming here for years," Semasko said. "I remember my father in Sayreville used to buy fresh fish off their truck. It's been a great restaurant. I'm sorry to see it go."