King's Seafood Company

King's Seafood Company is a family-owned and operated restaurant and seafood distribution business headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. Its portfolio is centered on seafood restaurants, particularly the Water Grill and King's Fish House concepts, and also includes selected steakhouse and casual restaurant businesses. The company operates in several western U.S. states, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington. The company traces its restaurant heritage to the King family's earlier operations. In 1945, brothers Mickey and Lou King opened King's Coffee Shop in Huntington Park, California. That business was later sold to Tiny Naylor's in 1982, but the family's involvement in restaurants continued through the next generation. Their sons, cousins Jeff King and Sam King, established University Restaurant Group in 1983. The name reflected their different university affiliations: Jeff attended the University of Southern California, while Sam attended the University of California, Los Angeles. The cousins soon developed the group's restaurant portfolio. In 1984, they opened 555 East, a steakhouse in Long Beach, California. The business later expanded into seafood dining through King's Fish House and Water Grill. These concepts gave the company a range of formats, from broad-market, family-oriented seafood restaurants to more formal seafood dining. Its portfolio also includes Lou & Mickey's in San Diego, a steakhouse named for the founders' fathers, Meat On Ocean in Santa Monica, and Pier Burger, also in Santa Monica. In 1998, University Restaurant Group adopted the name King's Seafood Company. The renaming connected the operating company more directly to the family's identity and its seafood-focused restaurant portfolio. The company has continued to operate as a private, family-linked business rather than as a publicly traded restaurant group. According to the cited company description, King's Seafood Company operates 12 King's Fish House restaurants and seven Water Grill locations, in addition to 555 East, Lou & Mickey's, Meat On Ocean, and Pier Burger. Restaurant counts and the precise geographic footprint may change over time, so these figures should be treated as a snapshot rather than a permanent current total. The company also has a seafood distribution function, supporting the sourcing and supply needs associated with its restaurant operations. The business has had a presence in the broader U.S. restaurant industry beyond its own brands. Jeff King served on the board of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and chaired the California Restaurant Association. Sam King was identified as one of the founders of the Sustainable Seafood Forum, reflecting an interest in seafood sustainability and industry practices. Jeff King died on May 17, 2017, at the age of 77. Sam King has been described as the company's chief executive, while Jeff served as chairman of the board during the company's earlier development. King's Seafood Company's positioning combines family ownership, regional restaurant heritage, seafood specialization, and a multi-concept operating model. Its brands span casual and upscale dining occasions, while its western-state footprint gives the company a regional rather than global market identity.

King's Seafood Company's history is rooted in a Southern California restaurant family. In 1945, brothers Mickey and Lou King opened King's Coffee Shop in Huntington Park, California. The coffee shop represented the first generation of the family's documented restaurant activity. The brothers eventually sold the business to Tiny Naylor's in 1982, but the King family's restaurant involvement continued through their sons. In 1983, cousins Jeff King and Sam King founded University Restaurant Group. The cousins came from rival Los Angeles-area university traditions: Jeff was associated with the University of Southern California and Sam with the University of California, Los Angeles. Their choice of company name reflected that personal connection rather than a particular restaurant concept. The new organization opened 555 East steakhouse in Long Beach, California, in 1984. The restaurant became an important early expression of the cousins' operating model and remains part of the company's portfolio. Over time, the group expanded beyond steakhouse dining into seafood, developing King's Fish House and Water Grill as its principal seafood concepts. This broadened the company's reach across different price points and dining occasions while retaining a strong association with fresh seafood. In 1998, University Restaurant Group changed its name to King's Seafood Company. The new corporate identity emphasized the family name and the company's increasingly prominent seafood business. The company also developed a seafood distribution operation, linking its restaurant activities with seafood procurement and supply. The portfolio subsequently expanded to include multiple formats and locations. King's Fish House became the group's broad seafood restaurant concept, while Water Grill developed as a more formal seafood dining brand. Other operations included Lou & Mickey's in San Diego, named after Jeff and Sam King's fathers; Meat On Ocean in Santa Monica; and Pier Burger, also in Santa Monica. The company maintained its base in Costa Mesa and expanded across western states including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington. The company's leadership was associated with the two cousins. Jeff King served as chairman of the board and participated in restaurant-industry and destination-marketing organizations, including the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and the California Restaurant Association. Sam King served as chief executive and was identified as a founder of the Sustainable Seafood Forum. These activities connected the company to wider discussions about restaurant business development and seafood sustainability. Jeff King died on May 17, 2017, at age 77. Publicly available reference material continues to identify Sam King as the company's chief executive. King's Seafood Company remains characterized as family-owned and operated. Its present identity is based on a multi-brand restaurant house, with seafood as the core category and steakhouse and casual dining concepts providing additional formats.

• 2017

  Jeff King dies

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Co-founder and former chairman Jeff King dies on May 17, 2017, at age 77.

• 1998

  University Restaurant Group becomes King's Seafood Company

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopts its current name, aligning the corporate identity with the King family and its seafood-focused restaurant portfolio.

• 1984

  555 East opens

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The cousins open 555 East steakhouse in Long Beach, California.

• 1983

  University Restaurant Group is founded

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Cousins Jeff King and Sam King launch University Restaurant Group, the predecessor to King's Seafood Company.

• 1982

  The family's original coffee shop is sold

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Mickey and Lou King sell King's Coffee Shop to Tiny Naylor's before the next generation establishes a new restaurant organization.

• 1945

  King's Coffee Shop opens

  [1]King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Brothers Mickey and Lou King open King's Coffee Shop in Huntington Park, California, establishing the family's documented restaurant heritage.

A family-owned western U.S. restaurant group built around seafood dining, with complementary steakhouse and casual concepts and an associated seafood distribution business.

• Seafood restaurant

  Water Grill

  Water Grill is one of King's Seafood Company's principal seafood restaurant concepts. It represents the group's more formal seafood dining format and is associated with fish, shellfish, and other seafood-focused meals. The cited reference lists seven Water Grill locations within the company's portfolio, although location counts can change.

• Seafood restaurant

  King's Fish House

  King's Fish House is the company's broad seafood restaurant concept. It forms a substantial part of the portfolio and is designed around seafood dining across a multi-location network. The cited reference lists 12 restaurants under the brand, with the company operating across several western U.S. states.

• Steakhouse · 1984

  555 East

  555 East is a steakhouse in Long Beach, California, and one of the earliest restaurants created by Jeff and Sam King after they formed University Restaurant Group. It provides a steakhouse format within a company otherwise principally identified with seafood restaurants.

• Steakhouse

  Lou & Mickey's

  Lou & Mickey's is a San Diego steakhouse named for Mickey and Lou King, the fathers of company founders Jeff and Sam King. The restaurant extends the family's history and naming tradition into the company's steakhouse group.

• Steakhouse

  Meat On Ocean

  Meat On Ocean is a steakhouse in Santa Monica, California. It is one of the company's non-seafood restaurant concepts and complements the seafood and steakhouse formats operated elsewhere in the portfolio.

• Burger restaurant

  Pier Burger

  Pier Burger is a casual burger concept in Santa Monica, California. Its inclusion gives King's Seafood Company a simpler, more casual format alongside its seafood restaurants and steakhouses.

• 1998

  Corporate renaming to King's Seafood CompanyStrategy

  Background

  The company had been operating as University Restaurant Group since its 1983 formation, while its restaurant portfolio had developed a strong seafood identity.

  Action taken

  The organization changed its name to King's Seafood Company.

  Aftermath

  The new name tied the business to the King family and its seafood-focused restaurant operations.

  Source

1. 1King's Seafood Companyen.wikipedia.org