We're Celebrating 30 Years
To mark this special milestone we will be throwing a year-long party with menu specials, discounts and events at each restaurant. Details will be announced in January 2026. We celebrate 30 years because of the loyalty of our regulars – many of whom live close enough to walk or come by bike, golf cart or boat. Our 30th anniversary celebration is for them.
— Jim Ulcickas, Co-Founder and Proprietor
620 Lido Park Dr has been a seafood restaurant for as long as anyone can remember
The original location started as the Sea Shanty in the early 1960s before Francis Delaney founded the first of nine Delaney’s across Southern California. So, when the over-the-water restaurant space in Newport’s historic Cannery Village became available in the 1990s, Jimmy Ulcickas and Richard Staunton knew they had a tough act to follow.
Image Credit Title: Calif. Newport Beach - Sea Shanty | Date: Jun 8, 1963 | Collection: Gerhardt (Wally) Photograph Collection | Owning Institution: UC Irvine, Libraries, Orange County Regional History Collection | Source: Calisphere
Back in 1996, we were at the forefront of the fresh, sustainable seafood conversation and we still are
Life-long boaters and fisherman, Ulcickas and Staunton met over their mutual love of the ocean and their desire to introduce others to the wonders of fresh seafood and shellfish. “Folks weren’t used to getting hyper-fresh seafood and shellfish right in their own neighborhood, and the question of fish origins was just starting to take off. Today, many restaurants claim to be fresh and responsible – but we are still the sustainability leader, on track to practice a 100% sustainable trade, and one of the few to regularly certify our menu with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other organizations. We’re also one of the few restaurants to operate our own fishing boat, which gives us more control over the fish we serve our customers. It’s a difference you can taste.”
— Jim Ulcickas, Co-Founder and Proprietor
From one to a family, each restaurant has a shared mission
The first location has led to seven more Bluewater restaurants including Redondo Beach, Coronado, Carlsbad, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Catalina Island and Phoenix, with complimentary concepts like El Galleon on Catalina Island and Mia’s, a Baja-Mediterranean restaurant opening later in Solana Beach. No matter the location, each concept serves the freshest sustainable seafood, innovatively prepared, in a casual atmosphere.