Why Slapfish founder created a seafood chophouse

Celebrity Chef Andrew Gruel, who founded Slapfish in 2011 and sold it last year, has returned his focus to seafood dining with the opening of Calico Fish House — a seafood chophouse located at California's Sunset Beach between Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.

"Calico is our family restaurant and our four children helped in developing the concept," Gruel told FastCasual in an email interview. "We believe food should be simple if you have ingredients you love and a mission that speaks beyond salt and pepper. Calico hits all the notes when it comes to crave-worthy cuisine. We can't wait to grow this venture and have our kids take it to the next level one day. This is our American Dream — where the ocean meets your plate."

Although Calico is technically not a typical fast casual brand, it will offer a grab-and-go section, take-out and some counter service.

"You can consider us to be 'flex-casual' to some degree," said Gruel, who saw the cost of goods increasing but wanted to pay team members a strong living-wage. "We knew we would need to increase unit volumes beyond what we have seen via fast casual. The introduction of a full bar allows for this and a full-service model fits this calculus as well."

At Calico, which Gruel developed along with his wife, Lauren, diners are offered responsibly sourced seafood, a freshly stocked raw bar, small farm meats, seasonal vegetables from Melissa's Produce and a full bar with cocktails. As part of their mission to encourage Americans to eat more healthy seafood and locally sourced meats while avoiding trans fats and seed oils, the Gruels work directly with fishermen and farmers to source the best possible products available and support local economies.

The menu is centered around simply grilled a la carte proteins, including carefully prepared fish, meat, and poultry, served with 10 scratch-made sauces and sides that change daily. Sharable plates include house-baked rolls with Sweet Lobster Butter, Lobster Corndogs, Angry Lobster Pockets and Pretzel Crusted Crab tots. A daily crudo option complements the curated raw bar.

The menu also has a section of handhelds, including sandwiches, burgers, and burritos such as the Two-Handed Fish Sandwich with Tiger Sauce, Lobster Dog and Jersey Burger with Taylor Ham, a nod to Gruel's home state of New Jersey. Seasonal organic salads and sides are also available.

Additional Calico Fish House locations will open over the next 18 months as the Gruels begin franchising.

While Andrew Gruel serves as CEO of American Gravy Restaurant Group, which comprises Calico Fish House, Big Parm Pizza, Two Birds Chicken, Butterleaf, Lolo's Tacos and 101 Burger, and Lauren Gruel serves as CMO, the couple also has a passion for providing sustainable seafood to protect the world's oceans.

As a frequent speaker for the National Fisheries Institute, Andrew Gruel applies the science and knowledge of a sustainable seafood supply chain to the purchasing philosophy and practices at Calico Fish House. That includes purchasing wild-caught fish when possible and buying farmed seafood that uses only healthy feed in a strong ecosystem and is processed in facilities with fair trade labor practices or transparent labor practices, he said. U.S. wild fisheries are protected by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which fosters long term-biological and economic sustainability of marine fisheries. This ensures fisheries in U.S. federally-protected waters maintain the vital mandate to keep stocks at a maximum sustainable yield to provide for a future that includes seafood accessibility.

Calico only serves farmed seafood that has been certified sustainable by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, and Gruel applies these same strategies to meat and poultry by only purchasing products that are raised cruelty-free and grass-fed organic beef when possible. Calico purchases Jidori Chicken that is naturally fed and free-range raised on small farms throughout California.

The couple is also known for advocacy work supporting veteran and displaced restaurant industry employees during the pandemic. As a partner with Save the Brave, a nonprofit that works to prevent veteran suicide, Calico donates a portion of every check to this effort, and all veterans receive a 50% discount on their meals at Calico. As a continuing effort of the non-profit the Gruels founded during the pandemic, 86 Restaurant Struggle, restaurant employees in need can receive free meals at Calico.