Best Virtual Catch

Best Virtual Catch: Canton Provisions Co.

Being so far from the ocean, it’s hard to find a wide range of quality fish in Ohio. Bender’s Tavern owner Jon Jacob knows the difference fresh fish makes. In March, Jacob launched Canton Provisions Co., an online fish market with orders you pick up at Bender’s. 

Seafood from Chilean sea bass to Maryland Chesapeake jumbo soft-shell crabs is delivered three times a week from Bender’s supplier, Foley Fish in Boston — and frequent shipments mean a fresher catch.

“Buying it direct gives us a lot better quality because we know exactly who handled it from the time it was caught, processed and shipped,” Jacob says. The market’s Maine moondancer oysters, for example, are aquacultured for a taste described as a briny kiss with a sweet glow.

This market goes beyond seafood with specialty grocery items, like melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon and wild-foraged black morel mushrooms. Customers are hooked on sharing how they learn to cook new items for restaurant-quality feasts at home. Succulent South African lobster tail for dinner, anyone?

“People are really having fun,” Jacob explains. “They’re able to buy products they typically won’t find.”

Online orders for pickup at Bender’s only, 137 Court Ave. SW,  Canton, 330-453-8424, cantonprovisions.com