# Why did the fish fast food chains close? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 8, 2023, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860 "2023-03-08T07:56:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/101 "2023-03-09T16:53:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We tend to drink red wine in the winter, white wine in the summer, and whatever we feel like in the spring and fall. Poll in MPSIMS > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2925): > > Single choice - You can only have one type of wine for the rest of your life. Choose wisely. [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/2925) ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/102 "2023-03-09T16:55:00Z")
I didn’t know they went away. Since I had to give up gluten years back, I haven’t been back. . .but man, once or twice a year, I used to myself sick as a dog chowing down on all that grease with a side of fish. I loved it, but I only ate it every six months to a year because it took me that long to forget how sick it made me 🙂 Even now, I’d love some Long John Silvers. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/103 "2023-03-09T17:00:48Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > for me, i prefer a lighter chilled Rose with my fish [blech 🤢] uh…indeed, chilled Rose is a perfectly fine wine to drink with seafood [/blech 🤮] JK 😃 . whatever floats your fishing boat is all good. > [@salinqmind1](#): > > I buy nice white fish, cod, halibut, or especially catfish (farm raised, but…) - dredge in seasoned panko crumbs, sprayed with a mist of oil, and cooked in the air fryer. Absolutely heavenly! (can do the same with chicken). (we don’t do deep frying in the house. That’s why there are so many restaurants selling fried things.) I use my air-fryer to _fry_ chicken wings all the time; I can tell very difference from deep frying them. Air-fried fish, on the other fin, I _do_ find inferior to deep or pan-frying. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/104 "2023-03-09T17:01:29Z")
Also of note in the Pac NW along with Ivar’s, there is the Taco Del Mar chain with pretty yummy fish tacos and fish burritos if you are looking for fishy fast food. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/105 "2023-03-09T17:23:01Z")
A quick tip from the Central Coast. If you have ever driven the 101 up or down the California coast, you’ve probably noticed an exit for Santa Claus Lane. There used to be a toy store, joke shop, candy store, trading post, three different Santa-themed restaurants, a petting zoo, and a train ride. And an 18 foot tall Santa Claus. That’s all gone now, but people still get off there for some of the best fish and chips in California at the Padaro Beach Grill. Fresh snapper in a beer battered tempura and outdoor seating with a magnificent view. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/106 "2023-03-09T17:26:21Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > I would think when people started getting healthy that they would flock to fish as better than beef Dunno about the chains, but as far as “healthy”, LJS at least is about as far from healthy as you can get without eating a tub of pure lard with a cup of sugar dumped on top. I’ve eaten at one once, and everything was fried. And if you didn’t get enough greasy goodness from the “fish”, you could get fried dough. I’m pretty sure my Diet Coke had been through the fryer 😃 I suspect Arthur Treacher’s was similar. Dunno about H. Salt. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/107 "2023-03-09T17:37:40Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I suspect Arthur Treacher’s was similar. Dunno about H. Salt. They’re all what the Brits would call chip shops. You really can’t call them fish or sea food places. The deep fryer is the signature element; not fish. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/108 "2023-03-09T19:31:07Z")
A new “chain”, but with a limited number of locations, is Gordon Ramsey’s Fish and Chips; they’re in tourist spots. We ate at the location in Las Vegas in the LINQ complex, it was wonderful. The wait was about half an hour, mostly because it was 11 PM just after the shows closed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/109 "2023-03-09T19:50:43Z")
I knew that Long John Silver had been part of the Yum group (a subsidiary of Pepsi) along with other chains like KFC and Taco Bell. But I just read that Yum sold Long John Silver in 2011. Which is interesting because the Long John Silver in my area is still sharing a restaurant with KFC. I’m assuming they have a single franchise owner that predates the split. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/110 "2023-03-09T19:52:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Which is interesting because the Long John Silver in my area is still sharing a restaurant with KFC. I’m assuming they have a single franchise owner that predates the split. Likely so. There still seem to be a lot of those “combo” locations out there, featuring a LJS or an A&W along with one of their former Yum! sister brands. The Wikipedia entry on Yum! indicates that they started building those combo locations with LJS and A&W even prior to obtaining those brands. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yum group (a subsidiary of Pepsi) Not actually a subsidiary of Pepsi, at least not anymore. PepsiCo bought Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC over the course of the 1970s and 1980s. In 1997, PepsiCo decided to get out of the restaurant business, and spun off that division (and those chains) into a separate company, which was then named Tricon Global Restaurants (the “tri” representing the three restaurant brands); Tricon apparently had/has a “lifetime” contract with PepsiCo for soft drinks, which is part of why those chains still offer Pepsi. Tricon then rebranded themselves as Yum! Brands in 2002, when they merged with Yorkshire Global Restaurants (which had owned LJS and A&W). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/111 "2023-03-09T20:16:50Z")
My fav were the fried clams…I talked my ljs into letting me order them by the pound… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/112 "2023-03-09T20:57:03Z")
I’m close to one of the last remaining Skipper’s, which I grew up eating in Oregon. It’s OK. A new place called KettleFish is a lot better, but their fries leave something to be desired. Ivar’s doesn’t have any locations on my side of Puget Sound. I’m still searching for great fish and chips. _Battered_ fish, for damn sake! I live minutes from seawater in the Pacific Northwest. Where’s the good seafood? Is it all hoarded by Duke’s and Anthony’s? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/113 "2023-03-09T21:09:08Z")
Arthur Treacher’s was a big treat when our family moved into my parents’ current house nearly 40 years ago. I can still picture the brown paper bags, soaked through with steam and grease from the french fries, fish fillets and hush puppies. I was pretty young back then but I seem to remember a series of mysterious fires at that store within a few years. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > … the Mexican restaurant we go to has fish & chips … Fish & chips & salsa could be The Next Big Thing. Should the chips be the fries or the totopos kind, though? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/114 "2023-03-09T21:41:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You can’t eat fried fish in the car the same way you would a burger. It’s usually knife-and-fork food, and once you get the tartar sauce and malt vinegar involved you’re flirting with disaster. …fish and chips are one of the most popular meals here in NZ, and almost every household is within walking distance of at least _one_ Fish and Chips shop. And we all eat fried fish with our hands, mostly 🙂 Vinegar gets added before you take it away if you want it, and tartare sauce or Wattie’s are provided in small containers so as to not make a mess. Here’s the YouTube channel of a guy who rates NZ fish and chips. All fingers, no fork and knives 🙂 > **[1Fish1Scoop](https://www.youtube.com/@1Fish1Scoop/videos)** > > Alby and the team are searching for New Zealand's best Fish and Chips! ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/115 "2023-03-10T03:30:50Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > I use my air-fryer to _fry_ chicken wings all the time; I can tell very difference from deep frying them. Air-fried fish, on the other fin, I _do_ find inferior to deep or pan-frying. With the wings, it makes sense (and I also air fry them when they aren’t stupid expensive) - they’re “frying” in the oil/fat coming through the skin, so you get great results. But most fish in the air fryer gets pretty dry - although a heavy batter can fix that, said wet batters don’t work particularly well in an AF either. Of course, my cheapish pre-made panko shrimp from Costco do quite well in the air fryer, for when I want something as a side with my kicked up ramen (see, I brought fried seafood back into it!). ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/116 "2023-03-11T07:05:07Z")
San Antonio, Texas has a local fish chain called Fred’s Fish Fry which are the butt of a local joke that they must be a drug/mob front because “no one ever eats there.” I’ve lived in this town for about 15+ years now and I am one of the many who have never visited one. > **[r/sanantonio - Has anyone ever eaten at a Fred's Fish Fry? What is the actual...](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanantonio/comments/u83awz/has_anyone_ever_eaten_at_a_freds_fish_fry_what_is/)** > > 68 votes and 73 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/117 "2023-03-11T12:16:45Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Also of note in the Pac NW along with Ivar’s, there is the Taco Del Mar chain with pretty yummy fish tacos and fish burritos if you are looking for fishy fast food. I wanted to try them the last time I visited, but both my parents convinced me that it would be a waste of my time. They much prefer Ivar’s (my dad always gets cod) or Little Chinook’s. Still want to try Taco Del Mar, which I was confusing with Del Taco from Grace & Frankie. Del Taco also has a fish taco that looks yummy, but I probably won’t be near any of them. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/118 "2023-03-11T13:26:57Z")
Rubio’s is a fast-casual Mexican chain with a location near me. They serve salmon and mahi-mahi in tacos, burritos, bowls, etc., and is good in that application. The Habit is a burger chain that offers an Albacore fish sandwich, which is what I get there instead of a burger, also good. Not fish-n-chips, but solid choices. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/119 "2023-03-11T15:32:27Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Still want to try Taco Del Mar I tried a taco del mar once. The food was good enough, but the gauntlet was annoying. Kind of like schlubway, where you have to answer 20 questions, do want this, do you want that, before finally getting food. If you want a good fish taco and you are in Western Washington, go to Taco Time. They have the “Baja Style”, which seems to have a wealth of shredded cabbage in it, or the regular fish soft taco, which has pieces of deep fried, breaded fish and is considerably wetter than the baja. The Taco Times outside WWA do not have fish tacos. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860/120 "2023-03-11T15:43:25Z")
I’ve been away from SoCal far too long. I get grilled fish tacos up here. I just have to make sure they’re on corn tortillas. In the PNW, ‘soft taco’ means ‘flour tortilla’. **\*ick\*** Anyway… As I recall, ‘Baja Style’ uses breaded fish. What is the style called for grilled fish? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-fish-fast-food-chains-close/980860.md?page=7)