Richard Staunton

Co-founder and Proprietor

Rick Staunton developed the concept for Bluewater Grill in 1996 and with his partner, Jim Ulcickas, opened the first restaurant in Newport Beach’s Cannery Village in September that year. Bluewater Grills at Redondo Beach’s King Harbor and The District at Tustin Legacy in central Orange County followed in 2001 and 2008, respectively.

Earlier this year, Rick supervised the acquisition of The Fish Market in Phoenix from his father-in-law, A.C. Duckett, Jr., Fish Market co-founder, and the redesign of the iconic restaurant into the first Bluewater Grill outside California. The restaurant opened Oct. 9.

Rick is responsible for all aspects of the development and execution of the Bluewater Grill Seafood Restaurant concept. He oversees all phases of design and construction of each new location and controls all aspects of restaurant operations.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Rick is a law graduate from the Barristers Admission Board, part of Sydney University.  Upon graduation, he was admitted to the New South Wales Bar before practicing as a barrister (trial attorney) for seven years. A chance meeting with his future wife in Aspen, Colo., led to a move to California in 1988.

In 1992, Rick entered the thriving California restaurant business by opening Los Cabos Mexican Mesquite Grill, specializing in healthy, mesquite-charbroiled Mexican food in the Del Mar area of San Diego. Despite success with the restaurant, he sold Los Cabos in September 1998 to devote his full attention on the development and expansion of Bluewater Grill.