San Pedro Fish Market Leases 55K sf in West Harbor

A floundering San Pedro Fish Market has cut a deal with Ratkovich Company and Jerico Development for a 55,000-square-foot restaurant in San Pedro’s West Harbor development.

The 68-year-old market has signed a 49-year lease with the developers of the mile-long waterfront destination slated to open next year across from Terminal Island, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The popular fish market has operated in temporary digs since early last year, when its home of four decades at the former Ports O’Call Village was razed to build West Harbor. Plans to build a $140 million restaurant in the Port of Los Angeles were tossed due to red tape.

The developers of West Harbor and the San Pedro Fish Market signed agreements last year to ensure a spot in the 42-acre waterfront development. Since then, the market has been operating on the north end of the West Harbor footprint.

The long-term lease solidifies details and makes its new home official.

The San Pedro Fish Market will open its new doors in a standalone building in the center of the 375,000-square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment draw, just south of planned amusement rides.

At 55,000 square feet, it will be “one of the largest restaurants in the United States,” according to its owners. It will have 3,000 seats, with outdoor patio dining accounting for up to 90 percent of the space. The remaining 10 percent to 15 percent will be dedicated to indoor seating.

The restaurant will include event areas, private dining and areas for podcasters to conduct live broadcasts. Construction is set to start next year, and take two to three years to complete.

The building, designed by Washington, D.C.-based Studios Architecture, looks like a giant corrugated shed, according to a rendering. It will accommodate flexible dining, with stations offering to sell fresh fish to be cooked on site and a menu from which to order meals.

In the meantime, the restaurant will operate out of a temporary spot it calls The Landing Phase 2, where the waterfront Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina was razed in 2018.

The San Pedro Fish Market has signed a three-year lease for the 4,000-square-foot kitchen complex, to seat from 1,600 to 1,800 diners, Fish Market CEO Michael Ungaro said. Terms were not disclosed.

“The challenge has been that we’ve been very limited in what we’ve been able to do between the pandemic, the (Ports O’ Call) eviction, operating out of a parking lot and seeing millions of dollars in sales evaporate,” Ungaro told the Press-Telebram.

The $200 million West Harbor project, facing the main channel for the Port of Los Angeles, will include a 6,200-seat amphitheater, plus a 150-foot Ferris wheel, carousel, a wave swinger and carnival rides.

— Dana Bartholomew