Rogacki Charlottenburg’s first Eel and Fish Smokehouse

As I enter the specialty store Rogacki on Wilmersdorfer Straße, I have one objective: the fish department! Smoked, marinated, grilled. Whole, fillet, or used in salad. To go or to have right away. They have fish and seafood in every imaginable form. In the middle of the spacious hall I meet Dietmar Rogacki, the third generation of the Rogacki family to run the store. He stepped into the parent company when he was 28. Today he’s 63 and Rogacki 90 years old.

Everything started in 1928 with a smoked fish operation on Utrechter Straße in Wedding, presumably owing to company founder Paul Rogacki’s passion for fishing. In 1932 they moved to Wilmersdorfer Str., where the company established itself as "Charlottenburg’s first eel and fish smokehouse." At that time the store and smokehouse could be found in the backyard. "Magnificent houses surrounded us then," Rogacki can explain thanks to a photo collection from the 30’s. In 1945 everything was destroyed. The rebuilding begun. The assortment expanded to include meat and sausages.

Today you can find, alongside fish, game, poultry, meat, and sausage products, cheese, wine, and baking goods throughout the 1,000 m2 spread. There’s also a food stall department, comprising of a corner for connoisseurs of delicacies such as oyster, lobster, or classic fish dishes; a pasta corner; and a food stall, where on a good day up to one ton of fish is sold. An on-site catering service delivers fish platters, decadently topped canapés, and soups and salads, all to your house.

But what remained most impressive for me is the spacious fish department with its unbelievable assortment of fresh fish and seafood from around the world, as well as the impressive fish smokehouse. I have a look around. From the blue collar worker to the posh city girl and everyone in between. There seems to be no class divide here. Even Prince Charles has had salmon ordered from Rogacki.

Constanze Hallensleben

Founder Creme Guides