Bruce Johnson and his crew are putting their best foot forward after the closure to patrons of the original Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill at Pier 38 on July 15. The restaurant had been a mainstay at the pier for 14 years.
Everyone — that means Johnson, his wife and three daughters, and all 36 employees — are focusing their hard work and intention on the success of the remaining Uncle’s restaurant at Pearlridge Center, which opened last January.
“I always got requests from people from the west side saying, ‘When are you coming out our way?’ Now we have Pearlridge, and we thought, downtown is not far from Pearlridge.”
The restaurant menu, a nod to Johnson’s fishing community, is built around “auction-fresh” fish and all manner of seafood. Popular dishes include an array of fish and chips; a poke tower with layers of ahi poke, guacamole, ahi tartare and masago; and sesame- crusted ahi.
The decision to close the pier restaurant to diners was based not just on the challenges of the coronavirus, but that the lease is set to expire in August 2021.
“I could’ve renegotiated it, probably, but that made up my family’s mind,” he said. “With social distancing and all that, we thought having two restaurants was extremely risky.”
Both locations closed their dining rooms on March 19, and the pier restaurant offered takeout for about a week before both locations were shuttered March 27. The Pearlridge restaurant reopened June 5.
He admits that it’s a risk to keep even one restaurant open, and the goal right now is to break even. For an eatery that built its reputation on fresh fish, that can be tough.
“We have to maintain our brand and pay wages. Fresh fish isn’t inexpensive,” he said. “But we are a fishing family; our kids grew up on boats — so we decided to put our heads down and go forward.”
Johnson spent his “teenager days” fishing in Kona and then moved to Maui, where he worked as a fisherman. In 1975, he ventured into seafood distribution with Fresh Island Fish, which he operated from Maalaea Harbor along with his first restaurant, Maalaea Fish Market and Grill.
He moved to Oahu and in 2006 opened Uncle’s at Pier 38. In 2018, he sold Fresh Island Fish and focused on building the Pearlridge location.
Johnson is proud of the new restaurant, a spacious, festive space with ocean-blue walls covered with fishing photos, mounted fish and more.
“I put my heart and soul into it,” he said.
He believes there are many reasons customers can dine in with confidence: 22-foot-high ceilings, a large dining room that easily allows for 6 feet or more of distancing, an outside lanai, an entrance that doesn’t require setting foot in the mall. He said the staff even leaves the front door open for fresh air — “we want people to feel safe.”
For folks who prefer takeout, the restaurant has curbside service and various delivery services.
But if Johnson has an ace in the hole, it is a fisherman’s strength of character that the entire operation shares.
“My crew keeps asking, ‘When can we stay open until 8?’” he said. The pandemic has necessitated abbreviated hours, but his staff is itching to push forward.
So Johnson plans to expand his hours, and he’s hiring. He will need a total of 50 workers.
“I’m committed to my staff,” he said. “I told them, if it’s empty in here, don’t worry. If you’re ready to fight, I am.”
Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill, Pearlridge Center; 275-0063. Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays. Curbside pickup and delivery available. Visit unclesfishmarket.com.
