Business Rebuilds After Devastating Fire

Aaron Peterson was enjoying himself at a poker table in Las Vegas on August 18 of last year when he got the terrible news that his business, 42nd Avenue Fish & Chips, was going up in flames.

“One of my worker face-timed me and showed my building was on fire,” Peterson said, “and I was out of commission for about a year.”

It shouldn’t have taken that long, Peterson believes, since the fire only damaged the kitchen. But unfortunately for him, the Portland Fire Department decided to have a training crew demolish the building entirely.

“I was going to rebuild the old building and a whole bunch could have been salvaged since the fire was just in the kitchen,” he said. “It was really, really unfair. The fire had been out for about two hours, but they (firefighters) were in there, drinking my soda pop, tearing it down.”

Even then, the fire department didn’t make it any easier for Peterson, he said.

“The fire marshal put us through things and I felt like they put us through the ringer,” he said. “I don’t know why — I felt like it was a little racism — because of the fences they had us put up and a ventilation system I don’t see in other folks’ businesses.”

Peterson’s business was originally at NE Alberta Street and Alberta, but a new owner evicted him and he was glad to find a new location at 5303 NE 42nd Ave. until it was brought down by fire — and the fire department.

The future didn’t look bright, but the 42nd Avenue Alliance, a community-based economic development initiative, helped Peterson locate another building at 4935 42nd Ave., just down the street, which he promptly bought enabling him keep the same business name. The new location opened on Sept. 11, and Peterson said now business is good.

“We’re open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday from 11 am to 9 pm, and Sunday from noon to 7 pm,” he said.

Peterson learned to cook fish from his mother as he was growing up in Los Angeles, focusing on cornmeal breading and a secret recipe of spices.

The restaurant serves a variety of fish, including red snapper, catfish, cod and tilapia, Peterson said, as well as oysters, shrimps, a variety of salads, along with fried okra, hush puppies, potato salad, mac and cheese, cabbage, greens, cornbread, grits and a range of desserts that includes banana pudding, sweet potato pie, German chocolate

cake, chocolate cake, strawberry cake and devil’s food cake.

“It’s not just fish and chips,” Peterson said. “It’s also a little bit of soul food.”