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The old Johnny’s Ocean Fish, Co. location on the Ruston Way waterfront will be reopening in Spring (some say around April 1st) under the Northern Fish Products banner.

They’ve put up their ‘coming soon’ sign and have begun remodeling. It seems that that they’re going to attempt the same thing Johnny’s did with a slightly different emphasis. From in article in the News Tribune (January 3rd):

The store will broaden its line of ready-to-eat seafood dishes for Ruston Way walkers and nearby office workers.

Additionally, it will stock specialty seafood items, such as winter troll-caught Alaska salmon, that aren’t available in supermarkets.

Sounds like a plan.

I’ve walked past Johnny’s many times (hundreds, maybe thousands, I walk almost every day) and sometimes saw people on the picnic table out front eating what I assume they bought inside. But I never stopped in to try anything. That’s partly because there was nothing inviting me in, and there was also the smell of the dumpster next to the sidewalk. The smell of fish makes me lose my appetite. Maybe it’s because I had to help clean fish when I was a kid fishing with my dad.

So, if anyone from the new owner is reading this, here are some suggestions from a frequent Ruston Way walker.

• First and foremost, move the dumpster or get one that seals when you close it.
• Advertise that you have ready to eat meals in big banners at the street level. Sandwich signs are a great idea there.
• Use those signs to display terms that people recognize as ‘ready-to-eat’ meals. Things like ‘<some kind of fish> with fries and softdrink’, ’shrimp and seafood salads’ or other ‘meal deals’ will get the point across.
• Walking around with free sample platters on busy sunny days with a flier advertising lunch specials would help as well.
• You could also put out the ’sidewalk cafe’ trimmings, such as more tables outside, waste baskets and roped-off eating areas.

Johnny’s never really let people know they had anything but cold dead fish. There’s really only one other ‘take-out’ food place that’s right on the waterfront. It’s that little walk-up place next to the dock in Marine Park. I haven’t eaten there. I’m a little uneasy with a place that sells bait to fishermen (at least I know they used to). I have trouble eating food prepared in a place that sells worms.

I generally go up to the Spar, just a block from the old Johnny’s. The food, coffee and atmosphere are really good and they have sidewalk seating year-round. The coffee is way better than the Starbucks or Tulley’s on the same street. They use a specialty roast from Fox Hollow, a local roaster and former owner of the Spar coffee shop. I send bags of their beans out as gifts to family and friends outside the area. The Spar’s menu is probably the most boring menu I’ve ever seen, but the food is good. If you go there be sure to ask about the soup and specials. Sometimes they really hit it out of the park with those.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Tacoma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.