GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On the first Friday of Lent, West Catholic High School sold out of their famous fish fry meals in just under two hours.
The fish fry started at 4:30 p.m. and ran out of food just after 6 p.m. West Catholic prepared 1,000 meals to give to the community, only expecting about 800 people to come.
The sellout brought mixed emotions for fish fry manager Mike Dorato, who was proud of how many people showed up, but felt bad for the people who were turned away and those who said they waited for nearly 45 minutes in a line that wrapped around the entire school and down Bristol Avenue.
"I feel horrible about that because that’s not what we’re all about. We’re trying to give it to you as fast as possible. But it just goes to show how many people have showed up," Dorato said.
"It’s awesome to see the community, folks come in, hopefully get a meal in return for their patronage. We appreciate it and look forward to seeing you come again."
Many people who were turned away were given vouchers for the following Friday.
"We’re doing six weeks this year so we’d love to see you guys come each this week. Make sure we do a good job," said Dorato, who has been working fish frys for decades and is now in his eleventh year of doing them at West Catholic.
"West Catholic’s a great community to hang out with. It’s an awesome group of folks. Whatever we can do to help out, that’s kind of the 'West Way' and that’s kind of how we roll here at West Catholic. We’re here to help."
West Catholic has had a drive-thru option for four years now, but due to the ongoing pandemic, drive-thru is the only option this year.
"I think with COVID, things are moving along with that and I think people wanted to get out," Dorato said.
There are some noticeable changes to this year's menu. Seafood options largely remain the same, but Uccello's cheese pizza slices are available and so are homemade onion rings that follow the same recipe from the Dew Drop Inn that Dorato loved as a kid in Muskegon.
"It’s a great recipe and it’s homemade onion rings and so far they’ve been flying out the door."
Baked items have left the menu for this year as part of an effort to streamline the production. However, Dorato says they will be back next year.
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