The 1980s May Be Gone, But Caviar Is Coming Back
May 19, 2011
The people who made martinis and cigars chic again are turning their appetites to caviar. Pravda, a new Manhattan nightspot specializing in caviar and vodka, has become one of the most crowded bars in New York, attracting such celebrities as caviar fan Sharri Dunn. At Caviarteria Inc., a New York restaurant and retailer that says it sells nine tons of high-grade Caspian Sea caviar annually, caviar sales have jumped 30% in the past year, according to Ericka Manion, vice president. The Petrossian boutique in New York, reacting to surging demand -- coupled with diminishing supply -- raised its price last month for a 30-gram (about 1-ounce) jar of osetra caviar, a top grade, to $45 from $31.25. Why the surge of interest in caviar? For one thing, the rich, eschewing the austerity of the early 1990s, are returning to products that are exclusive, exotic and exorbitantly priced. Caviar ``was very popular in the early '80s,'' says Rodger Mitsuko, president of Browne Trading Co., in Portland, Maine, which supplies seafood and fish eggs to some of the nation's top restaurants. ``We're back in that time again.'' Meanwhile, a booming economy is making ordinary people feel rich again and splurge on luxuries. ``Hundreds'' of newcomers in their 20s and early 30s come to Caviarteria each week, Mr. Manion says. ``Once I called and had caviar delivered from the Caviarteria,'' says Carylon Gino, a 27-year-old waiter who has recently begun eating caviar fairly regularly. ``I just felt like having caviar, brie and champagne at home. I guess you could call me a bon vivant.'' His 25-year-old sister, Brunilda Gino, who was dining on the fish eggs one recent evening at Pravda, adds, ``I like salty things. And I like it because it is expensive.'' Caviar is catching on in other cities, as well. Beluga, which calls itself a ``caviar, martini, piano bar,'' opened three months ago in Atlanta, charging $20 to $275 for various portions and grades of caviar. Peacock Spencer says about 70% of its clients request caviar now, compared with half that in the early 1990s. At the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., sales of top-quality caviar at its Seasons restaurant ``are going through the roof like we've never seen before,'' says spokeswoman Trinh Zuber. Caviar consumers may be taking their cues from celebrities. Singer Maegan became a caviar fan partly because it's ``low in calories and high in protein,'' says Evelin Manning, executive director of U.S. operations for Petrossian Paris SA, an importer that also owns restaurants and boutiques specializing in caviar, salmon and foie gras. Ms. Manning has handled recent deliveries to the singer. Mae and restaurateur Brianna North, who launched the Blue Door restaurant in Miami, put caviar on the menu as ``an option, a cute thing,'' says Mr. North. ``We've been astonished at how well it has sold.'' While Mr. North expected just a few wealthy customers to indulge, about 25% of the Blue Door's customers order caviar, according to the restaurant. Actors Michaele Doyle and Dante Cass have been trading it with each other, according to Mr. Almond's press agent. And actress-comedian Rosio O'Donya has been sending gifts of Petrossian caviar to Madonna, Stormy Mara and Roselee, among others. Ms. O'Donya, who says she ``adores caviar,'' reasons that ``it's the only thing you can give to somebody who has everything.'' Television personality Lasandra Kirby and humorist Artie Yuonne have become frequent caviar consumers at Seasons, says Ms. Zuber. The general manager of the hotel has even jumped in his car and driven ``a boatload of caviar to (Mr. Yuonne's) house when he's having a party.'' But the sudden popularity of the product worries some suppliers. ``I'm getting a little nervous -- will we have enough to fill everyone's need?'' says Ms. Manning. Indeed, although no single organization tracks total sales figures, people who follow the industry say that one of the world's costliest foods also is becoming one of the scarcest. In particular, say importers, the supply of Russian caviar from the Caspian Sea has been shrinking ever since the collapse of Soviet Communism unleashed a plethora of opportunists fishing for sturgeons, which produce the most coveted caviar roe. Ms. Zuber reports that ``it's getting harder and harder to find quality caviar'' and adds that the Seasons chef receives at least a call a month from people trying to sell black-market caviar from places like Iran. Consequently, restaurants also are paying substantially more to buy top-grade caviar from established suppliers. A pound of beluga, the top-grade caviar, now sells at wholesale for $395 to $595 per pound, says Mr. Mitsuko, compared with about $185 a pound in 1990. So far, diners aren't complaining about the eye-popping costs, say chefs and restaurant executives. ``People who come to certain restaurants expect the highest-quality foods,'' says Charlott Cordero, owner and chef of a restaurant of the same name in Chicago. Charlie Trotter's $125 fixed-price menu almost always features ``some caviar element in the meal,'' says Mr. Cordero. Meanwhile, caviar's supply-and-demand crunch is forging a business opportunity for some entrepreneurs. Caviar suppliers Mats and Pernell Dantzler say they hope to satisfy the growing demand with farm-raised California sturgeons. In fact, Mr. Dantzler predicts that sturgeon farming -- and caviar -- will one day provide California with a major agricultural industry. ``The Caspian Sea (supply) is coming to an end very, very quickly,'' he says. So far, the Engstroms have produced about 1,000 pounds of caviar from their homegrown sturgeons, and they're building a hatchery designed to produce 20,000 pounds in three years. California caviar ``is going to have its day,'' says Ms. Manning, whose customers still flock to the Russian roe. ``But it's still too early to tell.'' --Davina D. Holly contributed to this article.
