Slapfish
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Andrew Gruel |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 17 |
Area served | Southwestern United States |
| Products | Seafood, tacos, burritos, sandwiches, clam chowder |
| Website | slapfishrestaurant.com |
35°10′32.1″N 106°34′30.7″W / 35.175583°N 106.575194°W
Slapfish is a fast casual seafood restaurant chain founded by Andrew Gruel. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, as of 2018 there are over 11 locations in the Southwestern United States, with new locations opening in other states including Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas.
History
[edit]In May 2011, American chef Andrew Gruel founded Slapfish with a retrofitted food truck selling seafood from California and lobster from Maine. Within three months he had three food trucks in Los Angeles and Orange County.[1][2][3]
Working directly with fishing boats to create a supply chain for seafood led to the restaurant concept.[4] In early 2012, he raised money from family and friends to convert an old bagel shop in Huntington Beach into Slapfish's first brick-and-mortar restaurant, serving fast casual seafood.[1][2][3] The menu has expanded significantly since its beginnings as a food truck selling three items.[3][5][6] Slapfish serves only sustainable seafood, with a commitment certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, an organization that measures the level of seafood stocks.[3][6]
As of 2017, there are seven Slapfish locations in Southern California, two company-owned and five franchised.[7][8][9] The Lehi, Utah, location was the first outside of California, opening in March 2017,[4] with a second Utah location opened in November 2017.[6] In October 2017, a new franchise was opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[10] In December 2017, Slapfish announced plans to open Raw Bar by Slapfish, which will serve chilled seafood and oysters next door to the flagship location in Huntington Beach.[11] The company has also announced plans to open restaurants in Florida, the United Kingdom and South Korea.[12][13]
In July 2019, they debuted their first location in the Midwest, opening a franchise in Noblesville, Indiana.[14]
Format
[edit]Slapfish has been described as "the Chipotle of seafood."[6][15] The store concept of a self-described "modern seafood shack" is based on seafood huts typically found in Southern California and Mexico.[6]
Locations
[edit]United States
[edit]- Glendale, Arizona
- Brea, California
- Huntington Beach, California
- Irvine, California
- Laguna Beach, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Newport Beach, California
- San Clemente, California
- San Jose, California
- Orlando, Florida
- Noblesville, Indiana
- Fishers, Indiana
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Lehi, Utah
- Park City, Utah
- Sandy, Utah
- Farmington, Utah
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Nancy Luna, "Luna: Slapfish to begin franchising," Orange County Register, September 4, 2013.
- ^ a b Anthony Clark Carpio, "Growth proves slow but business leaders have hope," Los Angeles Times, January 8, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Susan Adams, "Started As A Food Truck, Slapfish Is Trying To Be The 'Chipotle Of Seafood'," Forbes, October 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Karissa Neely, "Slapfish brings California seafood to Lehi," Daily Herald (Utah), March 16, 2017.
- ^ Bradley Martin, "California's Slapfish 'Boat to Plate' Dining to Dock in Las Vegas," Eater Las Vegas, October 6, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Ted Scheffler, "Come on, Get Slappy," Salt Lake City Weekly, November 8, 2017.
- ^ Bret Thorn, "MenuMasters 2016 Trendsetter Award: Slapfish," Nation's Restaurant News, April 18, 2016.
- ^ "Slapfish Restaurant Owner Shares Sustainability Campaign," CBS Los Angeles, July 23, 2014.
- ^ Elaine Glusac, "Cruise and Air News: Robots Onboard; Chefs Too," New York Times, February 1, 2016.
- ^ Ron Davis, "California seafood chain scaling up September opening in Albuquerque," Albuquerque Business First, July 5, 2017.
- ^ Nancy Luna, "Slapfish founder to open raw seafood concept in Huntington Beach," Orange County Register, December 26, 2017.
- ^ Madelyn Kearns, "Slapfish opens new US location, with restaurants in the UK and South Korea on the way," Seafood Source, August 21, 2017.
- ^ Madelyn Kearns, "Slapfish to kick off aggressive 2018 expansion plan with first Florida location," Seafood Source, January 10, 2018.
- ^ Natalia E. Contreras, "Slapfish is opening in Noblesville," Indianapolis Star, July 15, 2019.
- ^ Candice Woo, "Seafood-Based Fast-Casual Slapfish Swimming Into San Diego," Eater San Diego, January 25, 2017.