SUMMERSIDE – Deep fryers were bubbling from dawn until well after dusk as customers tried to get their hands on a popular Good Friday menu item at Dino’s Pizza in Summerside.
“Fish has always been on our menu, but Good Friday there are more sales because many Christians avoid eating red meat on (Good Friday),” said the owner, Rami Ayoub. “It’s worth its weight, but we have barely kept up with the orders and we are battering on the fly.”
The tradition of eating fish stems from the Roman Catholic custom to acknowledge Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of his flesh, when he was executed on the cross.
Eating the flesh of warm-blooded animals on the religious day is generally abstained from, but fish is acceptable as they are cold-blooded.
“We sell haddock loins, shrimp, scallops and clam strips,” said Ayoub, who started his Water Street restaurant in August 2011.
“My parents are from Lebanon, so we have a Lebanese menu too.”
But on Good Friday it’s all about the fish.
Ayoub acknowledged that the same custom is celebrated in Lebanon, and many believers fast for 40 days to commemorate the 40 days following Christ’s baptism and time spent fasting in the desert before stepping into public ministry.
Fish is not only a poignant symbol used by Christians to recognize each other, but it dates back to Christ’s disciples being fishermen, both literally and figuratively.
“I grew up with a Roman Catholic church background and celebrated this when I was young, but when I became an adult and started going to university I stopped going to church because I got busy. Now with my business I am very busy, but I will try to get back into it if I can,” he explained, after selling the last haddock loin on the menu.
As an Easter weekend promotion, the public was invited to participate in a competition to guess how many pieces of fish were sold on Good Friday at the restaurant.
With a guess of 743, Tracie Jarrel was the closest and will receive homemade 10-piece family pack fish and chips.
There was a few other close guesses, said Ayoub.
“Two people had guess 742 pieces of fish.”
After the competition was posted on the Dino’s Facebook page, business was absolutely booming, said Ayoub.
“On Saturday, people were calling and saying they seen the ad and asked where the restaurant was located.”
For more information, visit www.dinospizzasummerside.com.
