Fish and chips chain to open seafood bar in Pierce County shopping center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ivar’s will open a Gig Harbor seafood bar by February at 4901 Point Fosdick Dr.
- The site will seat over 80 inside and 30 outside, and occupy almost 4,000 square feet.
- Ivar’s will add Kidd Valley burgers, more salads and chicken items to local menu.
Keep clam, everyone.
Ivar’s, the Seattle-based seafood restaurant chain founded in 1938 and known for their fish and chips and clam chowder, plans to open their first seafood bar in Gig Harbor by February.
“We get dozens of requests from our fans west of the bridge asking us for a store near them,” Carl Taylor, Director of Operations for Ivar’s Seafood Bars, said in a news release. “We are happy to finally have found a site in a beautiful, busy center. Hungry diners will no longer have to cross the bridge to get to fish and chips and chowder at the Ivar’s in James Center or Cheney Stadium.”
The new restaurant will occupy the site of the former Lunchbox Laboratory at 4901 Point Fosdick Dr. in the Uptown shopping center. Bob Donegan, Ivar’s president, said Dec. 1 that they signed the lease for the space last month and are hoping to get permits to make renovations early this month.
“We have been looking for a seafood bar site in Gig Harbor for 15 years,” Donegan said.
He explained that two reasons brought them to the town: first, customers were asking for it, and second, they’ve noticed the influx in population in the Gig Harbor area — enough to support a store, compared to 20 years ago.
Ivar’s currently has 18 “fast casual” seafood bars and fish bars around the Puget Sound area, including three in Pierce County, per their website. The chain also runs three full-service restaurants — two in Seattle and one in Mukilteo — and four stadium concession locations at T-Mobile Park, Lumen Field, Cheney Stadium and Husky Stadium.
The Gig Harbor seafood bar “will feature all of Ivar’s favorites — fish and chips, clams and chips, broiled salmon Caesar salads, Ivar’s famous white clam chowder and other soups made in its secret kitchens in Mukilteo,” the news release says.
The restaurant will seat more than 80 customers inside and 30 on an outdoor patio, per the release.
Because the space is relatively large — almost 4,000 feet — they’ll be able to offer Kidd Valley hamburgers, which are one of their bestsellers at Cheney Stadium, Donegan told The News Tribune. Ivar’s owns the Kidd Valley burger restaurant chain.
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They’ll also have more fresh salads and chicken offerings on the menu than in their traditional seafood bars, he said.
He wasn’t quite ready to share what their grand opening promotion will look like, but confirmed there will be specials and said to “stay tuna’ed” on what’s to come.
The Gig Harbor Ivar’s will be the chain’s first location west of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in at least 25 years. They used to have a location at Kitsap Mall in Silverdale but closed it in 2000 or 2001 when the lease expired, according to Donegan.
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 11:16 AM.
