47-year-old Calif. seafood chain to close 2 Bay Area restaurants
Longtime California seafood chain the Fish Market is leaving the Bay Area. The company is closing its original 47-year-old restaurant in Palo Alto, as well as its San Mateo restaurant and South San Francisco fishery, Farallon, according to a letter from President Dwight Colton shared on its website.
“The difficult decision to cease operations at these locations is due in part to changing market conditions, and other factors influencing The Fish Market’s ability to continue to provide the high-quality seafood dining experience we built our legacy on,” Colton wrote.
Colton also cited imminent real estate development at the Palo Alto and San Mateo restaurants as a reason for the closures. The Palo Alto Fish Market is scheduled to close Sept. 13, and the San Mateo Fish Market is scheduled to close Sept. 20. Farallon Fisheries is set to close in September.
“Unfortunately it’s been inevitable these were going to be turned into high-density housing projects,” Colton told SFGATE. “We thought we’d try to go out on our own terms. … We think it’s the most fair to our employees and guests.”
The California chain’s founders opened the first Fish Market — a seafood restaurant, oyster bar and market — in Palo Alto in 1976. Soon after, they opened locations in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Jose (both the Santa Clara and San Jose locations closed in the wake of the pandemic). At its peak, the Fish Market had a total of nine restaurants — all in California except for one in Phoenix, Arizona.
Now, only two Fish Markets remain, and they’re both in Southern California: one in Del Mar and the other in San Diego.
As the final two Bay Area restaurants wind down, both locations will feature “weekly specials of favorite menu items offered over the years as a tribute” for the month of August, Colton wrote in his letter. There will also be a commemorative menu in September, followed by a public online auction of memorabilia after the closures.
Following the announcement, Colton said the Fish Market has seen an outpouring of support from customers.
“On our Instagram and Facebook page, it’s been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “People are sharing memories, like, ‘I proposed to my wife in your restaurant,’ or, ‘I used to work there.’ There’s also disbelief, like, ‘I can’t believe it’s closing after all these years.’”
As the Fish Market prepares to exit the Bay Area, Colton said he is feeling grateful for their 47 years here.
“I really want to express our gratitude to the guests and all the team members, the thousands of people over all these years who have chosen to work with us,” he said. “The Fish Market, like most restaurants, is a building. What makes a restaurant special is the people and the environment we create, and that’s due entirely to our staff over the years. They made the Fish Market magic happen.”
This story was updated at 2:30 p.m., July 12, to include comments from Dwight Colton.
Source: SFGATE
