Founder of Anthony’s Restaurants, a Pacific Northwest seafood empire, has died

Budd Gould, who created one of the Pacific Northwest’s most recognizable seafood brands, Anthony’s Restaurants, and oversaw an empire that has grown to more than two dozen locations with an in-house fish company, has died. He was 85.

Gould “passed away peacefully” on July 5 with family by his side, the restaurant group announced in a news release Tuesday afternoon. The company also shared the news on social media.

“Budd built Anthony’s with passion, heart, and an unwavering belief in people,” posts on Facebook and Instagram read. “He gave countless individuals the opportunity to learn, grow, lead, and succeed, and we’re proud to remain the same family-owned company he built with such care.”

Until his death, he remained a chairman of the company he founded in 1973 in Bellevue. His daughter Amy Burns took the reins as president and chief executive officer in 2023 as Anthony’s celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“While we grieve this loss, we also celebrate the incredible legacy he built and the countless lives he touched,” said Burns in the release. “He took great pride in the team and community we’ve built, and we will continue moving forward with the same passion and dedication he brought every day. Above all else, I will miss my Dad, he was my everything. He was my friend, soccer coach, math tutor, ski buddy, sounding board, and was always my first call (sorry mom).”

Gould was born in 1940 and spent his summers in the waters of Whidbey Island. He graduated from Queen Anne High School, then the University of Washington and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in the 1960s. He got a job at Seattle First National Bank, working on a team that introduced the state’s first credit card, according to the news release. His entrepreneurial spirit enticed him to open a pet-centric business that was part-veterinary hospital and part-pet supply store, but it never flourished, according to a story honoring Gould’s recognition with a lifetime achievement award from the Washington State Hospitality Association in 2022. He then wondered if lobsters might thrive in the waters of Puget Sound. (They don’t.)

The harebrained experiment left him with a restaurant in what is now the Crossroads neighborhood of Bellevue. He thought maybe he would have some fun for a year, with eyes on selling to some restaurant investor friends. The local economy wasn’t in the best of shape, and no one wanted to buy the place. So he leaned into Mad Anthony’s, described then as “a colonial-themed prime rib house that reflected his love of American history,” per a timeline on Anthony’s website.

The decor changed, but the commitment to the industry never wavered.

Anthony’s HomePort hit Lake Washington in Kirkland just a few years later, in 1976. Unlike his pet project, this concept took off. On the water, or close to it, was where Gould thrived. Today there are Anthony’s up and down Puget Sound, from Bellingham to Olympia, reaching to the other side of the Cascades in Boise and south to Bend. The company also has several other brands such as Chinook’s at Salmon Bay and Budd’s Broiler. Some were scooped up over the years, including quite recently in Pierce County. Tides Tavern, an iconic waterfront haunt in Gig Harbor, is the most recent addition, preceded by Boathouse 19 at the Narrows Marina and Harbor Lights on Ruston Way in Tacoma. Last year, the company bought Churchill’s Steakhouse in Spokane.

In 1984, he launched a wholesale seafood business from Pier 91 in Seattle with the captain support of a lifelong fisherman and former Anthony’s chef, Tim Ferleman. That network connects the restaurants directly with suppliers in the surrounding region as well as Alaska and Hawaii. He was also an early advocate for local sourcing of produce and meat, partnering with farmers for a “Best of Season” program.

In accepting the hospitality award in 2022, Gould stressed the importance of nurturing trusted leaders as key to success in the restaurant business or any business.

“To be successful, a leader must be a good coach,” he said. “You’ve got to have a compass, and you’ve got to know where you want to go. It’s important to educate and lead people down the proper lane.”

Anthony’s has remained in the family. Gould passed the torch to his son Herb Gould in 2017, who led the company until Burns joined after a career in human relations at Microsoft.

“I got to work side by side with my dad for more than 40 years, and I learned from him every step of the way,” said Herb Gould, who will step into his late father’s role as board chairman. “But long before we ever worked together, he was my Little League coach. Even back then, he had this way of bringing out the best in people. That’s what stuck with me: lead with heart, believe in people, and the rest follows. I’m going to miss him so much, but carrying his legacy forward is an honor.”

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that the public consider donations to your local Boys & Girls Club or a local culinary arts program.

This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:30 PM.