Home to what might be one of the largest fish frys in all of Michigan, St. William Parish in Walled Lake pulls out all the stops on Fridays during Lent. The St. Williams Dad’s Club puts together some incredible meals, available to-go this year, and does it all with a crew of volunteers.
Tom Convery, Dad’s Club member, and fish fry coordinator, shared the story of this fish fry with us. St. William Parish has been holding their popular fish frys for 33 years, and Convery has been a volunteer for 10 of those.
“I had small children, way back in the day,” Convery said when asked how he started volunteering at the fish fry. “I wanted to get involved in the Dad’s Club, my job was flexible, so I started taking off early on Fridays to help. We’d do like 200 dinners back then.”
The fish frys now average over 1000 dinners on a typical Friday. “As far as we know, it’s the biggest one in Oakland County,” Convery said. This year they are only offering drive-thru take out fish dinners.You can order ahead online, or you can just pull up and place your order. “The drive-thru line is usually pretty quick,” Convery said. “But it’s also really easy to order online, and might be faster.” Convery estimates that about 2/3′s of customers utilize the online ordering tool, and many will order in advance of Friday, up to a week ahead. While they don’t usually run out of fish, this planning ahead will assure that you get your fish.
With the current set up, the Club has about 30 volunteers coming to help out each Friday. When they offer sit down dining, they might have upwards of 70 people helping, including many students from St. William School.
“It’s all about the fish,” Convery said. Fried cod is the main offering, and Convery proudly said that “we have been careful for more than a decade to purchase only the highest quality sustainable seafood from our vendors including ‘wild-caught deep sea cod’.” This reflects the parish’s commitment to be ‘stewards of the environment’. The club has also stopped using styrofoam, and now package their carry out dinners in recyclable packaging made from recycled plastic bottles. They’ve also drastically reduced their landfill bound waste.
The very generous fried cod dinners here come with 5 pieces of fish, french fries, coleslaw, a roll, butter and tartar sauce, and cost $10. You can also get your cod baked, with a light dusting of herbs, for a healthier option, and that costs $12. Fried shrimp is also offered ($12), and you can order a 10 piece box of fish ($15). Pasta with marinara, and baked potatoes are also options here, and there are multiple desserts to choose from.
The money they raise from the fish frys helps the Dad’s Club run all the sports for St. William School, which is home to the Crusaders. “Historically, we’ve helped the youth group out a lot as well,” Convery said. The club provides support for youth group members to attend the Rainbow gathering, a Catholic event held yearly for high school students in Detroit, as well as supporting scout troops and the parish itself.
A shrimp dinner from St. William Catholic Church in Walled Lake.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
If you go:
St. William Dad’s Club Fish Fry
531 Common St, Walled Lake, MI 48390
More info: https://saintwilliam.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/stwilliamparishwalledlake
You can place your online order here.
Fridays from 4-8pm, drive-thru take out only this year. Credit, debit cards, or cash.
A few reminders when placing an online Fish Fry order, per the Dad’s Club:
- Avoid the Drive Thru line! Anyone who orders online should enter the main Church Parking lot from the entrance off of Pontiac Trail, between the school and Oakland Vision. You will be greeted by a volunteer who will check you in and direct you where to park.
- We are limiting the amount of orders that can be placed to 20 orders every 15 minutes. This will ensure that we do not get behind with a large rush all at once. If the time slot is full, you will be given the option to place your order at a future time slot. Be sure to select a time slot during the checkout process.
A fish dinner from St. William Catholic Church in Walled Lake. They were named the top fish fry in the metro Detroit area by MLive readers.Courtesy Photo, used with permission.
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The Link LonkMarch 13, 2021 at 02:27AM
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This fish fry run by a Dad’s Club is named Michigan’s Best in Metro Detroit - MLive.com
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