For years, Tom McIntyre has endeavored to open the type of seafood restaurant that people in the Northeast take for granted. At seafood shacks up and down the East Coast, seafood is casual, approachable, affordable and fresh.
“I want to change the way people think about seafood in this town,” McIntyre says. “Growing up, we always went to the shore for summer vacation and, to me, good seafood is fresh, casual, low-key food.”
In 2020, McIntyre assumed ownership of Kate’s Fish, which his mother founded at the West Side Market in 2001. In recent years, McIntyre has had his eye on expansion, not only within the market but beyond. Outside of the market, he’s hosted seafood pop-ups with local chefs and explored restaurant opportunities as well.
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“I’ve been looking for a partner because I can’t do this alone,” he explains. “I’m great at seafood, but I don’t run a restaurant. I don’t run a bar. With the right partners and the right concept, it’s a winner.”
Those partners have arrived, says McIntyre. While he prefers to keep them private for now, they are the new owners of the Tremont property long home to Roosevelt Post #58 (2442 Professor Ave.). Plans call for turning that property into the seafood restaurant of McIntyre’s dreams.
“The concept is a blue-collar seafood bar: great seafood, great bar, no frills,” he says.
For years, local seafood lovers have been clamoring for just such a place, a laid-back joint in which to enjoy fresh seafood without the fuss. In this town, it seems, if you want to snack on raw oysters, peel and eat a pound of steamed shrimp, or crack open a lobster, a diner needs to dress up and expect to hand over a hefty portion of their weekly wages.
That won’t be the case at McIntyre’s new place, he promises.
“I source fish and seafood directly from great suppliers around the country and around the world – and without the need for a middleman,” he explains. “It is the competitive advantage that nobody else has as far as serving and selling seafood in this town.”
The plans call for a rotating roster of fresh, seasonal and sustainable fish and seafood. Diners can look forward to items such as lobster rolls, fried clams, stuffed clams, oyster po’ boys, fried fish sandwiches and fish and chips. A shimmering raw bar in the front of the restaurant will display and dispense items like clams, oysters, crudo, shrimp cocktails and other chilled seafood. Seasonal specials throughout the year will usher in fall clambakes, Lenten fish fries and summer lobster boils on the back patio.
McIntyre will partner with his neighbors at the West Side Market to supply everything he can’t, including produce, dairy, meat and bread.
The goal is to begin construction soon and be open in time for clambake season this coming fall.
2025 is the 25th year in business for Kate’s Fish. As such, they will be celebrating the occasion all year long. For the next 25 weeks, shoppers who visit the stall on Mondays and Wednesdays will receive 10-percent off their orders “as a way to give back to the customers.”
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