Ivar's

What Ivar's does

Ivar's, Inc. is a privately held Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant operator founded in 1938 by Ivar Haglund on Pier 54 of Seattle's waterfront. The company runs a multi-format dining platform: three full-service waterfront restaurants (Acres of Clams on Seattle's Pier 54, Salmon House on Lake Union, and Mukilteo Landing) and a chain of 18 fast-casual Seafood Bars throughout Washington State, serving nearly 3 million customers per year. A separate Sports and Entertainment Division operates branded concessions at T-Mobile Park, Lumen Field, Husky Stadium, and Cheney Stadium, reaching approximately 1 million fans annually. The business extends beyond dine-in via online ordering for takeout and delivery, gift cards, the Carte Clam Club loyalty program (for guests 55+), and a consumer packaged goods line (Ivar's Seafood, Soup and Sauce Company) that distributes award-winning soups, chowders, and sauces nationally and internationally.

The company's revenue model is transaction-based across restaurant dining, stadium concessions, and takeout/delivery, supplemented by retail product sales and gift card revenue. Distribution is regional, with all restaurant operations concentrated in Washington State. Technology consists of standard restaurant POS and third-party online ordering/reservation platforms (Tock for reservations), plus a patent-pending 3D Chowder Printer developed in 2016 that uses UV photopolymerization and food-safe laser printing to print customizable chowder components on demand. The 3D printer remains in prototype/beta phase and has not been commercially rolled out. Supplier relationships with Alaskan Leader Seafoods, American Seafoods, Penn Cove Shellfish, Draper Valley Farms, and Essential Baking Co. underpin a quality-controlled Pacific Northwest supply chain.

The company is led by President Bob Donegan and operates as a Washington-state corporation with 101-250 corporate employees (the operational restaurant workforce is separate). It is independently owned, with no parent company, private equity involvement, or public listing disclosed. The most significant recent structural change was the loss of a 12-year SeaTac Airport tenancy in 2018-2019, offset by the 2019 opening of a new Seafood Bar in Gig Harbor and continued investment in flagship renovations. The brand is anchored in Haglund's legacy and signature recipes (notably World Famous Clam Chowder and Fish 'n Chips), supported by a long-running community programs including corporate giving and the annual Teacher of the Year contest.

Name

Ivar's

Legal name

Ivar's, Inc.

Website

https://ivars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ivar's, Inc. is a privately held Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant operator founded in 1938, running three full-service waterfront restaurants, 18 fast-casual Seafood Bars in Washington State, and stadium concessions at four major Seattle-area venues, serving roughly 4 million customers annually and selling soups and sauces through retail channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Restaurants

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Fast Casual (THAFABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seafood QSR (THAFAAAH), Shelf-Stable/Retort Prepared Meat & Seafood Meals (AFANAFAE)

Keywords

• Pacific Northwest seafood
• Waterfront dining
• Fast casual restaurants
• Stadium concessions
• Seafood restaurant chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Revenue from dine-in customers at 3 full-service waterfront restaurants (Acres of Clams, Salmon House, Mukilteo Landing) and 18 fast casual Seafood Bars
2. Stadium Concessions: Ivar's Sports and Entertainment Division operates concessions at T-Mobile Park, Lumen Field, Husky Stadium, and Cheney Stadium, serving approximately 1,000,000 fans annually
3. Retail Products: Ivar's Seafood, Soup and Sauce Company markets and sells award-winning soups, chowders, and sauces nationally and internationally
4. Takeout and Delivery: Online ordering for takeout and delivery from all restaurant locations
5. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards for use at all Ivar's locations through in-store, e-card, and online purchase options

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ivar's operates a Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant platform comprising three full-service waterfront restaurants (Acres of Clams, Salmon House, Mukilteo Landing), 18 fast casual Seafood Bars across Washington State, stadium concessions at four major venues, and a retail consumer packaged goods line (soups, chowders, sauces) sold nationally and internationally. The company sells award-winning wild-caught Pacific seafood using original recipes from founder Ivar Haglund dating to 1938.

Product overview

Ivar's is a Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant chain founded in 1938, operating as a platform of distinct dining concepts. The core offerings include three full-service waterfront-view restaurants: Ivar's Acres of Clams (flagship on Seattle's historic Pier 54), Ivar's Salmon House (Northwest Native-American Longhouse on Lake Union), and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing (on Possession Sound near the ferry dock). Supporting the full-service brand is a network of 18 fast-casual Ivar's Seafood Bars offering fish 'n chips and clam chowder. Stadium concessions operate under the Sports and Entertainment Division at major Seattle venues. The company also offers a consumer packaged goods line (soups, chowders, sauces), gift cards, the Carte Clam Club loyalty program for seniors, and community programs like the annual Teacher of the Year contest. An innovative 3D Chowder Printer was developed as a prototype for print-on-demand customized chowder.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ivar's Acres of Clams Flagship full-service waterfront restaurant on Pier 54 of Seattle's historic waterfront overlooking Elliott Bay. Offers award-winning seafood including wild Alaska salmon, halibut, King crab, Dungeness crab, jumbo prawns, Manila clams, and weathervane scallops. Includes waterfront deck dining and adjacent Pier 54 Fish Bar for takeout.
• Ivar's Salmon House Northwest Native-American Longhouse-style full-service restaurant overlooking Lake Union with views of the Seattle skyline. Features open-pit Native American-style barbecue for alder-smoked dishes, including alder-smoked salmon, prawns, and alder-smoked chicken. Offers outdoor Fish Bar and boat dock for grab-and-go orders.
• Ivar's Mukilteo Landing

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 3 million customers served annually at Seafood Bars
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alaskan Leader SeafoodscoreOthersSeafood supplier providing wild Alaskan salmon and other sustainable seafood products to Ivar's restaurants
• American SeafoodscoreOthersSeafood supplier providing high-quality sustainable seafood products for Ivar's menu offerings
• Penn Cove ShellfishcoreOthersLocal shellfish supplier providing fresh clams and other shellfish for Ivar's clam chowder and seafood dishes
• Draper Valley FarmsminorOthersLocal farm supplier providing quality produce and ingredients for Ivar's full-service restaurants
• Essential Baking Co.minorOthersLocal bakery supplier providing bread products including sourdough rolls for Ivar's restaurants
• Tock (Reservations Partner)coreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party reservation platform partner used for booking tables at all three full-service Ivar's restaurants (Acres of Clams, Salmon House, Mukilteo Landing)
• Macrina BakeryminorOthersLocal Seattle bakery supplying sourdough rolls and bread products for Ivar's full-service restaurants

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is a seafood-themed casual dining chain present in tourist destinations, comparable to Ivar's waterfront flagship and stadium locations in tourism/event-driven traffic patterns.
• Anthony's Restaurants: Anthony's is a Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant group with multiple waterfront full-service locations and an Anthony's HomePort fast casual concept, directly comparable to Ivar's in geography, format mix, and seafood-focused menu.
• McCormick & Schmick's: McCormick & Schmick's is a seafood-focused full-service restaurant chain offering similar premium seafood menus and waterfront dining experiences, directly competing in the same category as Ivar's full-service locations.
• Legal Sea Foods: Legal Sea Foods operates seafood restaurants and a retail product line, comparable to Ivar's in its combination of full-service dining and consumer packaged seafood goods. Both brands leverage heritage recipes and seafood-forward menus.
• Bonefish Grill: Bonefish Grill is a casual-dining seafood chain owned by Bloomin' Brands offering wood-grilled fish and signature seafood entrées, directly comparable to Ivar's premium-casual full-service format in menu positioning and price point.
• Duke's Seafood: Duke's Seafood is a Seattle-based seafood restaurant chain founded in 1977, operating multiple casual and full-service locations in the Pacific Northwest with a similar Pacific seafood focus as Ivar's.
• Captain D's: Captain D's is a seafood-focused quick-service restaurant chain with hundreds of locations, comparable to Ivar's Seafood Bars in offering fast, value-priced seafood meals with fish, shrimp, and chowder core menu items.

Broad incumbents

• Red Lobster: Red Lobster is the largest U.S. seafood-focused casual dining chain (hundreds of locations nationwide), serving as a broad incumbent reference point for seafood category economics, menu pricing, and brand recognition versus Ivar's regional footprint.

Others

• Trident Seafoods: Trident Seafoods is one of the largest vertically integrated seafood producers in North America, comparable to Ivar's as a Pacific seafood ecosystem participant and a potential supplier/competitor in the seafood CPG category.
• Pacific Seafood: Pacific Seafood is a vertically integrated Pacific Northwest seafood processor, distributor, and operator, comparable to Ivar's as a regional seafood industry participant with overlapping supplier relationships and Pacific seafood focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IvarsClam
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IvarsRestaurants/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/IvarsRestaurants
• Instagraminstagram.com/ivarsrestaurants
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ivarsrestaurants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ivar's