Why Slapfish founder created a seafood chophouse

Superstar Chef Andrew Gruel, who founded Slapfish in 2011 and offered it past calendar year, has returned his aim to seafood eating with the opening of Calico Fish Property — a seafood chophouse located at California’s Sunset Seashore among Huntington Seaside and Seal Seaside.

“Calico is our loved ones restaurant and our 4 children assisted in acquiring the strategy,” Gruel advised FastCasual in an e mail job interview. “We believe food stuff should really be uncomplicated if you have substances you enjoy and a mission that speaks outside of salt and pepper. Calico hits all the notes when it comes to crave-worthy delicacies. We are not able to hold out to develop this enterprise and have our young ones just take it to the next level 1 day. This is our American Dream — wherever the ocean fulfills your plate.”

Even though Calico is technically not a normal quickly relaxed manufacturer, it will supply a get-and-go area, get-out and some counter service.

“You can take into account us to be ‘flex-casual’ to some diploma,” explained Gruel, who saw the value of items escalating but required to pay out team associates a powerful residing-wage. “We understood we would will need to improve device volumes further than what we have viewed by using rapidly relaxed. The introduction of a comprehensive bar allows for this and a comprehensive-services product matches this calculus as perfectly.”

At Calico, which Gruel created together with his wife, Lauren, diners are available responsibly sourced seafood, a freshly stocked raw bar, smaller farm meats, seasonal vegetables from Melissa’s Create and a total bar with cocktails. As part of their mission to stimulate People in america to eat far more healthier seafood and regionally sourced meats when avoiding trans fat and seed oils, the Gruels do the job right with fishermen and farmers to supply the ideal feasible products offered and support nearby economies.

The menu is centered about simply just grilled a la carte proteins, like meticulously well prepared fish, meat, and poultry, served with 10 scratch-designed sauces and sides that change day by day. Sharable plates consist of property-baked rolls with Sweet Lobster Butter, Lobster Corndogs, Angry Lobster Pockets and Pretzel Crusted Crab tots. A daily crudo selection enhances the curated raw bar.

The menu also has a area of handhelds, like sandwiches, burgers, and burritos this kind of as the Two-Handed Fish Sandwich with Tiger Sauce, Lobster Pet and Jersey Burger with Taylor Ham, a nod to Gruel’s house condition of New Jersey. Seasonal natural and organic salads and sides are also available.

More Calico Fish Residence destinations will open up around the up coming 18 months as the Gruels commence franchising.

Whilst Andrew Gruel serves as CEO of American Gravy Restaurant Team, which contains Calico Fish Dwelling, Huge Parm Pizza, Two Birds Rooster, Butterleaf, Lolo’s Tacos and 101 Burger, and Lauren Gruel serves as CMO, the few also has a enthusiasm for giving sustainable seafood to guard the world’s oceans.

As a repeated speaker for the National Fisheries Institute, Andrew Gruel applies the science and knowledge of a sustainable seafood supply chain to the buying philosophy and methods at Calico Fish Home. That contains buying wild-caught fish when attainable and acquiring farmed seafood that employs only healthful feed in a solid ecosystem and is processed in facilities with fair trade labor techniques or clear labor practices, he reported. U.S. wild fisheries are guarded by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Administration Act, which fosters long term-biological and economic sustainability of marine fisheries. This makes certain fisheries in U.S. federally-protected waters sustain the very important mandate to preserve stocks at a most sustainable produce to give for a long term that consists of seafood accessibility.

Calico only serves farmed seafood that has been licensed sustainable by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, and Gruel applies these identical techniques to meat and poultry by only obtaining products and solutions that are lifted cruelty-no cost and grass-fed natural beef when probable. Calico purchases Jidori Hen that is in a natural way fed and absolutely free-selection elevated on small farms all over California.

The few is also identified for advocacy operate supporting veteran and displaced restaurant market workers all through the pandemic. As a spouse with Help you save the Courageous, a nonprofit that performs to avert veteran suicide, Calico donates a portion of every look at to this hard work, and all veterans acquire a 50% lower price on their meals at Calico. As a continuing effort and hard work of the non-profit the Gruels started through the pandemic, 86 Restaurant Struggle, restaurant workers in need to have can receive no cost foods at Calico.