Three Generations of Fish

For over 60 years, Seattle's Mutual Fish Company on Rainier Avenue has been an avid sustainer and supporter of the local seafood industry in the Pacific Northwest. Three generations of the Yoshimura family have owned and operated this eclectic wholesale/retail seafood business since 1947: Dick, Harry and Kevin.

Harry (l), Dick (middle), Kevin (r)

Dick, the elder Yoshimura, was born in California and went to live in Japan as a young boy, returning to this country in 1930 when about 16 years old. He came to Seattle and worked in the fish houses that populated the Seattle waterfront at that time. The hours spent cutting and filleting fish were long and the work was hard. It was a very difficult experience for one so young but, as it is said, hard work builds character, and it certainly did.

In 1947, Dick decided to go it alone and purchased the Main Fish Company, located at 14^th and Yesler in Seattle. At the time, this was the largest Asian-owned fish and filleting house in the Northwest and possibly the West Coast. When, why, and how the name Mutual Fish came into play is unknown, but it is believed to be sometime in the early 1950s. In 1965, Dick bought the land of the current location and built the building we see today.

Now even at 96 years old, this amazing gentleman comes to work every day and continues to be part of everything. It is lovely to see him going off to lunch with his grandson Kevin and leaving son Harry to run the place while they are away. They are a wonderful example of family, even after so many years of working together.

Harry remembers going to “help out” when he was about 12 years old, especially those cold early mornings spent buying fish. In his words, “Gone are the days when you had to be down at the fish markets early to handpick the fish. Now most are ordered over the phone and come delivered in cardboard and/or Styrofoam containers. Way back then, the fish came in wooden boxes full of melting ice and leaking everywhere.” Harry remembers as a child going with his dad to the docks to pick up those 200 pound wooden crates of fish right off the boats. No forklifts available!

In the 1950s, Mutual Fish was the first to fly in fish, via United Airlines. Harry has fond memories as a young man with a driver's license of going to the airport in the company van on icy cold mornings to pick up the fish and driving right up to the belly of the plane after doing donuts on the icy runways. Today you will find a slightly more serious Harry in his role as owner/manager.

Mutual Fish is very accessible from all parts of Seattle, and especially easy from the Eastside. Look for a couple of large handwritten sandwich boards proclaiming the daily specials such as fresh wild halibut and salmon, scallops, ling cod and freshwater perch. Parking is adjacent to the front entrance and handicap accessible. When you enter the store a coldness envelops you and on the nose is the aroma of fresh ocean breezes. The sounds of water from the live tanks add to that “I gotta have fish for dinner" moment.  But what to choose?

There is so much selection packed into this medium-sized space. As you stand at the entrance and look around, flavors and recipes come tumbling to mind. There are whole fish to your right nestled in tubs of ice, all with clear eyes and perfect skins. The well-stocked live tanks and ice bins to your left include lobsters, crabs, mussels, smelt, clams and a wide selection of Northwest oysters, plus Harry's favorite belons, and occasionally bluepoints. Beyond is a long glass-fronted showcase running the entire length of the store filled with small whole fish, portioned specialties and fillets of what appears to be everything else that swims.

Penny Rawson/April 2010

Penny Rawson is a long-time Northwest food writer and owner of Penny Rawson Public & Media Relations.