The Daily Catch: A Family Recipe for Success

It would be a stretch to say the Freddura family invented calamari. However, as the proprietors of the Daily Catch, Boston’s pre-eminent seafood restaurant, they are at least partly responsible for solidifying its place as a staple appetiser in North American restaurants. “My family helped get calamari in Webster’s dictionary,” explains Dominic Freddura. “Before it was squid, and we said, "This is the Italian word for squid." Dominic’s father, Paul, was looking to make a splash in the restaurant industry when he opened the Daily Catch in 1973. Paul was born and raised in the North End and grew up eating his mother’s seafood-centric Sicilian cuisine, including fried calamari. At the time, the dish was popular in Europe and parts of Asia but was relatively unheard of in North America. Paul learned about the seafood business from veteran fishermen at the docks and knew an opportunity when he saw one. Clams, easily the most popular catch, were exorbitantly priced, while squid was going for just 15 cents a pound. Paul decided to open the Daily Catch and place his mother’s calamari at the heart of the business.