Longtime Duluth restaurateur dies at 77

Andy Maras’ daughter said one of his legacies will be that he was “the Jolly Fisher man.”

Penny Maras Olson said her father was “always there for anyone” in the community. She spoke with fondness and sadness Monday, a day after her father died at Solvay House at age 77.

Andy Maras was born in Greece and immigrated to Duluth in his teens, cousin Helen Medich of Cloquet said. They were a restaurant family, Medich she, with ties back to the The Main in the Alworth Building and to the cherished seafood haven Jolly Fisher on Superior Street near Lake Avenue, which Maras took over from his uncle, Paul Andrews, in 1962.

Maras ran the place until 1992, when competition from Red Lobster moved into Canal Park. “Andy couldn’t keep up,” Medich said of the chain’s lower prices.

Olson and her brother, Christ, grew up with the Jolly Fisher, and Penny simply uttered an “oh, wow,” when asked to reflect on those days. What she remembers most is the personal touch at the business.

“It felt like you were going home for holidays,” when coming to the restaurant, she said. “It was that warm. And there was dad’s smile.”

Medich said her cousin “was a great guy” who was “well-respected in the community,” not only for his personality at the restaurant, but also his service to his church and other community activities.

Before running the restaurant, Maras was a certified public accountant. After the restaurant closed, Maras served 13 years as a bailiff at the St. Louis County Courthouse. He was a past president and board member at the Twelve Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church.

The church had fish fry fundraisers using the “Maras family’s legendary baked and deep fried cod along with their signature tartar sauce,” a promotion in 2010 reads.

Olson remembers the restaurant’s catch phrase in the early 1970s: “If it swims, we have it.”

“Women asked if they could have Mark Spitz,” she said of the Olympic swimmer who won seven gold medals in 1972.

Her father was known as “Skipper Andy” at the seafood place, she said.

Medich said it’s impressive that Maras came to Duluth not knowing the language and became such a success. She fondly remembered the Sunday family dinners and she and Andy getting stuck with cleaning up the kitchen.

“Family was very important to him,” she said.

Maras is survived by his children and his wife, Gloria; along with siblings, cousins, and grandchildren.

A visitation is planned for 4-7 p.m. Friday at Dougherty Funeral Home, 600 E. Second St., Duluth. A funeral service begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Twelve Holy Apostles church, 632 E. Second St.

Tags: news, obituaries, business, food, restaurants, downtown, updates

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