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Kings of FI$H: How San Pedro Fish Market Survived It All to Become a Viral Seafood Destination
Eviction. Parking lots. Deaths. Recessions. COVID-19. Shutdowns. Another eviction. Michael Ungaro, CEO of the legendary San Pedro Fish Market, and his family had every reason to give up along the way. But they didn’t. They’ve been forced to move from their home not once, but twice. They’ve had to operate out of a parking lot and rebuild not once, but twice. They’ve lost some family and gained others. And through it all, they’ve kept the fish fresh, the grills hot and the seafood trays flying.
But let’s rewind.
It’s 4 a.m. The fishermen who catch only for Tommy “The Boss” Amalfitano Sr. arrive with the daily haul – live crab, snapper and wriggling lobster. Inside the market, the crew is already gutting, cleaning and sawing through fish and hurling heads and bones into icy bins while laying out pristine fillets for display. Somewhere, Henry “The Hammer” Ungaro can be heard calling out orders and slinging jokes in his signature raspy shout.
By 11 a.m., the place is buzzing – lines are out the door with Tommy Amalfitano Sr., aka “The Boss,” moving down the line, greeting regulars with his big smile and assuring newbies that yes, everyone will get fed. Very well.
Blue and orange cafeteria trays clatter as they’re carried out, heaped with heavily seasoned grilled shrimp, big whole steamed lobsters and king crab legs, and piles of corn, potatoes and garlic bread, all meant for a messy, utensil-free dive-in. It’s what San Pedro Fish Market (that’s Pee-dro, IYKYK) is famous for.
Even though this scene steals the show of the “Kings of Fi$H” docuseries (streaming on Amazon Prime since last year), it’s been playing out for decades, ever since the original 1956 Vista Seafood counter – just a couple hundred square feet – evolved into a 3,000-seat institution on the Los Angeles waterfront, serving 2 million customers a year and pulling in a whopping $30 million at its peak.
Like everything else in this story, though, business wasn’t always that smooth.
Blood, Sweat & Seafood
How It All Started
“Vista Seafood was originally started by my grandfather (Mackey Ungaro) in 1956,” says Michael Ungaro. “It was just a little storefront with a couple of stainless steel ice chests selling fresh fish to the locals.”
Mackey Ungaro’s son Henry and nephew Tommy Amalfitano Sr., who had spent their high school years helping out with the family business, had a choice to make – go to college or keep working. They chose family. “My uncle once said during a career fair in high school, ‘I just want to have the biggest fish market in town.’ And that’s basically what they did,” Michael Ungaro says, noting that he learned more recently that his grandfather had sent his (late) father and uncle to other fish markets to learn new tricks of the trade.
After a successful first year in 1959, the family moved to the waterfront, taking over Norm’s Landing, and added a live seafood section where people could choose their fish.
Business hummed along just fine – until a waterfront redevelopment push in the late '70s pushed them out. Thanks to strong relationships with city officials, they were allowed to operate out of a makeshift location in a parking lot nearby.
On Good Friday in 1981, when Michael Ungaro was just 12 years old, the San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant was reborn in a new, permanent waterfront location.
“In the early '80s, we realized people didn’t want to take seafood home to cook. They wanted it hot and ready – like McDonald’s. So we built a restaurant, added a fast food counter and invented the seafood fajita tray,” he says. “That tray became our signature – griddled seafood, garlic bread, red potatoes, corn … giant piles of food served family-style. That’s what made us famous.”
Business boomed again, thanks to the popularity of the SPFM Shrimp Tray. In the middle of it all, Henry Ungaro Sr., died suddenly in 1999.
The passing hit son Michael, then 30, really hard. But he was determined to honor his father’s legacy. “I feel like going to college, all that time studying and working in business – all that paid off so I could help keep this business moving forward when my dad couldn’t,” he says. Now at the helm as CEO and affectionately referred to as “The Visionary,” he remains the consistently cool-headed one amid the organized chaos and what can sometimes seem like a large-scale family drama (though he insists they’re as close as ever and a true team).
Other family members and owners include Henry Ungaro Jr., “The Hammer,” whom brother Michael Ungaro calls “a firecracker, but he has the biggest heart; he will do anything for you.”
Jennifer Ungaro, “The Queen,” handles everything not involving fish or food – essentially, all the paperwork, accounting, insurance and more. And John Ungaro, aka, “The Improviser,” sometimes referred to as “The Quiet Brother,” is still the main cook in the family and knows how to pivot on the fly.
Regarding his uncle, Tommy Amalfitano, Sr, Michael Ungaro says “I might be technically in charge because of my title, but Tommy Sr. is the real boss in this business. Everything has to pass by him for his approval.”
The core crew also includes the San Pedro Fish Market customers, whom Amalfitano Sr. has described as “the nicest, very best customers in the world. They fight through traffic to get here. They drive in from all over the country. And then they wait in line to get into the fish market. We’re so grateful for them.”
Becoming a Social Media Sensation
SPFM did better than just fine for the next few decades – even peaking at $30 million in annual revenue between 2010 and 2020, after Michael Ungaro took over marketing.
With social media beginning to take off, he took advantage of the free press and started documenting their daily operations on Facebook – mostly in response to a trash-talking competitor. “We didn’t think telling our story mattered. But then people started telling it for us—and not always accurately,” he says.
On a random day in 2013, Ungaro was approached by a production company (Citizen Jones) to film a reality TV-style sizzle reel documenting the family’s attempt to set three Guinness World Records in one day. He was onto something.
Fast-forward a couple years, and Ungaro had continued to document the behind-the-scenes organized chaos of the SPFM experience, turning it into a ragtag docuseries called “Kings of Fi$H.” Foodbeast, which had a massive following at the time, got wind of what he was doing and offered to distribute some of the episodes. Then they came by to broadcast the building of the “Super Tray.” It went viral, amassing more than 55 million views and drawing 30,000 guests in one week—so much so that they had to call the police in for traffic and crowd control. More media outlets took notice – San Pedro Fish Market earned a spot on Food & Wine magazine’s top 10 most Instagrammed restaurants in America that year.
“We weren’t even concentrating on [media] before all this. Everyone was head down, butt up,” Ungaro says. “They didn’t think there was any value in sharing our history. So, I started telling it on social media. I’ve realized that any part of your story that you leave blank – someone else is going to fill in the gaps. And almost always, it’s negative.”
This boom in business funded the development of a brand-new location in Long Beach, which opened in February 2020. We all know what happened after that.
The Dreaded Pivot
When COVID-19 hit, it changed everything again. The Long Beach location was doing swimmingly. Then they had to close indoor dining and operate out of a parking lot again. There was talk of a potential ghost kitchen operation, but it fell through (a blessing in disguise, the family says). Instead, they honed in on the outdoor dining for which they’ve always been known.
Then came another jab. Tommy Amalfitano Jr. died from complications of COVID – a massive blow to the family who knew him as “The Grille Master” and the personality of the market and business – always telling jokes and performing for laughs. His son, Andy, carries on his legacy working for the business.
Eviction, Again
If the pandemic wasn’t enough, then came threats of a waterfront eviction due to redevelopment. Again.
“It was terrifying thinking we’d have to lay people off. That was our biggest fear,” Henry Ungaro Jr. (aka “The Hammer”) says in the docuseries.
The dreaded day came in 2023, when the family was forced to move out of their waterfront spot – again due to redevelopment. Instead of folding, they hustled. Fast.
“We moved our entire 3,000-seat waterfront operation 100 yards into a parking lot and set up what’s become the world’s most successful pop-up – doing over $10 million a year,” Michael Ungaro says.
Using FEMA trailers for kitchens and picnic tables for dining, they recreated the experience as best they could – serving up more than $10 million a year from a temporary lot with 900 seats compared to their usual 3,000.
Telling their story helped them get out of a bind – again. Amazon Prime picked up the “Kings of Fi$H” docuseries and started streaming it in August 2024, giving them the exposure and momentum they needed to keep crushing it, keep their employees employed and focus on rebuilding however they could.
Today and Tomorrow
Now, with a three-phase rebuild in motion, San Pedro Fish Market has its sights set on reclaiming its rightful spot on the waterfront – this time, thankfully, with a 49-year lease for a new, flagship pad spanning 55,000 square feet with 3,000 seats.
In the meantime, they’re deep in the second phase of their temporary outdoor spot. Dubbed “The Landing,” the expanded space rolls out this summer with a series of custom-built shipping containers, 1,800 seats and a full kitchen complex. “We’re still expecting to do $20 million out of it,” Ungaro says.
Meanwhile, the Long Beach location continues to chug along as the family preps for a new build in Monterey’s historic Fisherman’s Wharf. And they’re not stopping at that. “We are continuing to scout high-traffic cities like San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas,” Ungaro says, hoping to bring the beloved shrimp trays closer to the masses elsewhere in the country.
Earlier this year, Ungaro says they made the switch to US Foods to give them more consistency and backing as expansion continued. “US Foods came in at a time when others stepped back, even when our post-eviction volume dropped,” Ungaro says. “They said to us, ‘We know you’ll bounce back.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I just signed three leases. We’re not going anywhere.’ Now, they’re part of our growth plans, not just order takers. That’s critical when you’re innovating and opening new concepts.”
“We’ve lost a lot in the last few years – family members, business partners and our businesses – but we have a lot to be thankful for,” Ungaro says. “And the future’s bright.”
Watch the “Kings of Fi$H” docuseries now on Amazon Prime. You can also catch more behind-the-scenes, operational stories on the “Fish Factor” podcast—produced exclusively for industry peers. And, follow along @sanpedrofish on social media—because the next tray is already being built.
A Timeline of San Pedro Fish Market's Growth
- 1956: Mackey Ungaro opens Vista Seafood as a small fish storefront in San Pedro, California, with his son Henry and family friend Tommy Amalfitano, who were both 15 years old at the time
- 1959: Relocates to the San Pedro waterfront, taking over Norm’s Landing, and evolves from a fresh fish counter to a bigger seafood operation with outdoor seating and a limited menu of shrimp cocktail and smoked fish
- 1979–1981: Operates out of a temporary parking lot during redevelopment of the waterfront
- 1981: After a year of construction, San Pedro Fish Market (SPFM) and Restaurant opens as a new, permanent location with a full-service kitchen and dining room, live crab and lobster tanks, cooked-to-order seafood trays, family-style outdoor dining seating for 300 and a walk-up fast food counter
- 1980s: SPFM grows into a 50,000-square-foot, 3,000-seat institution after taking over the former Crusty Crab next door
- 1998: SPFM completes harbor side seating expansion and increases footprint to 55,000 square feet and 3,000 seats
- 2009: Wins a Guinness World Record for most seafood prepared at an outdoor event (12,537.4 pounds)
- 2010–2013: Henry’s son, Michael Ungaro, begins focusing on brand building and storytelling via Facebook and other social media platforms amid dipping sales due to the recession and local redevelopment threats. Through the 2000s, business continues to grow from $10 million to $30 million in sales despite redevelopment uncertainty. Launches products in 6,000+ grocery stores and builds a robust online brand
- 2013: The SPFM team sets three Guinness World Records in a single day, and the event is captured by Citizen Jones, a production company that turns it into a sizzle reel and attempts to sell it as a TV series
- 2015: “Kings of Fi$H” docuseries launches online, showcasing daily family-run operations
- 2017: Foodbeast films the viral “Super Tray” video in March 2017, amassing 55+ million views and drawing 30,000 guests in one week
- October 2017: Signs lease for Long Beach location (former Joe’s Crab Shack/Rusty Pelican)
- February 2020: Long Beach location on Alamitos Bay opens, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Operates using a parklet for outdoor dining to survive lockdown
- March 3, 2023: Evicted from longtime waterfront location for second redevelopment phase. Moves entire operation to adjacent waterfront parking lot with 900 seats, FEMA trailers and pop-up kitchen. Continues to generate more than $10 million annually from parking lot setup. Long Beach location remains open
- Nov 2024: Signs a 49-year lease to rebuild original flagship site on a 55,000-square-foot pad with 3,000+ seats (estimated 2-3 years for build). Signs another 30-year lease for a new Monterey location on Fisherman’s Wharf (17,000 square feet; projected 2026 opening)
- May 2025: Phase 2 begins for “The Landing,” a larger, temporary pop-up with 1,800 seats, a 4,000-square-foot kitchen complex, bar and restaurant operating under a 3-to 5-year lease
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