San Pedro Fish Market, the state’s largest seafood restaurant, will be closing its historic waterfront location after its lease ends next month, the company announced on social media this week.

The announcement comes as the Ports O’ Call Village waterfront attraction, where the fish market is located, undergoes construction for a new long-awaited entertainment complex called West Harbor that is expected to open in 2024.

The fourth-generation family-operated business can trace its roots in San Pedro back to 1956, when Mackey Ungaro first opened Vista Seafood down the street from where the current fish market is today.

The business eventually grew, and in 1982, the Ungaro family opened the famous San Pedro Fish Market location, which today is known as one of the best places in the region to get seafood.

The company also has a location in Wilmington, which first opened its kitchen in 1990 before rebranding to San Pedro Fish Market Grille in 2018, and another that opened in 2020 along the marina in East Long Beach. Those locations will not be affected by the closure, said Carl LoGiudice, the fish market’s chief marketing officer.

The San Pedro Fish Market Long Beach overlooking Alamitos Bay. Photo courtesy San Pedro Fish Market Long Beach.

After six decades on the pier, the owners announced Tuesday that the lease ends March 3. After that, they’ll be moving to a temporary location soon that will operate as a pop-up shop while they explore longer-term opportunities on the San Pedro waterfront.

“We will continue to offer our amazing fresh seafood dishes that we are known for, served family style on the waterfront,” LoGiudice said.

The new pop-up location will be just a short walk north, the company said. An opening date has not been announced.

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