The San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant is back in business — though a permanent home is still a ways off.
The iconic eatery, which has been a popular fishmonger and restaurant for nearly 70 years, opened its new temporary spot dubbed the “Landing” on Friday, May 5, about two months after its longtime home on San Pedro’s waterfront shuttered, erasing the last remaining vestige of the old Ports O’ Call Village.
The temporary Landing shouldn’t be hard to find for longtime Fish Market fans: it’s just a few hundred yards north of the old Ports O’Call location, which had been the restaurant’s home since 1982.
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to quickly resume San Pedro operations,” Michael Ungaro, CEO and owner of San Pedro Fish Market, said in a statement, “and continue celebrating food and family in this initial phase of reopening as we work toward our next chapter of growth in a new, more permanent location on the San Pedro waterfront.”
The market has been run by the Amalfitano and Ungaro families since 1956. In 1982, the market moved to Ports O’Call Village, where it became a popular seaside business known for its chaotic and festive atmosphere, as well old- and new-world San Pedro character — and characters.
But that spot closed in March to make way for the under-construction West Harbor development, a new waterfront attraction slated to open next year.
The Fish Market originally was to be part of that new development. But following discussions on what a new facility would look like and how big it would be, the market bowed out, saying the popular business needed more space.
On the restaurant’s last day, folks lined up to carry platters heaped high with fresh fish to the familiar outdoor bench-seat tables at the edge of San Pedro’s shipping channel.
At the same time, equipment, desks, chairs and other items were being hauled out of the business and loaded onto trucks.
While that day may have marked an end of an…
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