King's Seafood Company is a family-owned and operated restaurant and seafood distribution company based in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, with restaurants in California,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. The company's restaurants include

Water Grill Water Grill is a fine-dining seafood restaurant in the United States. The original location is in Downtown Los Angeles. Additional locations are in Santa Monica, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Denver, Bellevue and Las Vegas. It is owned by King's Seafood ...

(7), King's Fish House (12), three steakhouses (555 East in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Lou & Mickey's in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and Meat On Ocean in Santa Monica), and Pier Burger.

History

Cousins Jeff and Sam King launched the company as University Restaurant Group in 1983 as a successor to their family's long-running restaurant operations. The cousins' parents, brothers Mickey and Lou King, opened their King's Coffee Shop in

Huntington Park, California Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside the ...

, in 1945. The brothers sold to Tiny Naylor's in 1982. Two years later, their sons opened 555 East steakhouse in

. Their original organization was called University Restaurant Group because the cousins had graduated from rival schools,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Jeff King served as chairman of the board and Sam King was chief executive of the company. In 1998 the company name was changed to King's Seafood Company. Today, the company operates 12 King's Fish House restaurants, seven Water Grill locations, Meat On Ocean and Pier Burger in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, 555 East steakhouse in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and Lou & Mickey's, a steakhouse in

named for their parents. In the 2000s, Jeff King served on the board of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and was chairman of the California Restaurant Association. He died at age 77 on May 17, 2017. Sam King was one of the founders of the Sustainable Seafood Forum. As of 2007, he is chief executive and resides in Coto de Caza, California.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1945 establishments in California American companies established in 1945 Companies based in Costa Mesa, California Food and drink companies based in California Food and drink companies established in 1945 Restaurant chains in the United States Seafood restaurants in the United States