| Ivar's | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1938 |
| Owner(s) | Ivar Haglund |
| City | Seattle |
| State | Washington |
| Website | ivars.com |
Ivar's is a seafood restaurant chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States, with operations in the Puget Sound region.
Ivar's also owns the Seattle-based burger restaurant chain Kidd Valley.
Ivar's was founded in 1938 by Seattle folk singer Ivar Haglund. Having built Seattle's first aquarium on what is now Pier 54, he decided to add a companion fish and chips bar to feed his visitors. The bar was short-lived, however. On July 22, 1946, Haglund opened a new restaurant, Ivar's Acres of Clams, at the same location. The aquarium closed ten years later, but the restaurant remains.
Ivar's has two other full-service restaurants: Ivar's Salmon House in Seattle's Northlake neighborhood, and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing in Mukilteo, Washington, next to the Washington State Ferries terminal. There is a fishbar outside of all three full-service restaurants. All its other locations are seafood bars.
Nard Jones remarked in 1972 that Haglund was "not afraid to reflect Puget Sound tradition in the decor of his restaurants, whereas others of his profession seem intent on making their patrons forget where they are." In this respect, he singled out the Salmon House, "an almost exact replica of an old Indian longhouse." [1]
Every Independence Day from 1964 until 2008, Ivar's sponsored the Fourth of Jul-Ivar's festival and fireworks show at Downtown Seattle's Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliott Bay. Ivar's estimated its attendance at around 300,000 people. On April 3, 2009, Ivar's announced it was no longer sponsoring its Fourth of Jul-Ivar's community fireworks show. Ivar's decided to focus its efforts on feeding families in the Pacific Northwest through its partnership with Northwest Harvest. [2]
Capitalizing on founder Haglund's reputation for eccentric marketing stunts, Ivar's put out a story that Haglund had placed billboards on the bottom of the Sound, related to a proposal he had once made for submarine traffic as a viable mode of transportation. Some documentation was released, including maps of possible sub-aquatic billboard locations. On August 22, 2009 one of the rumored signs was discovered and hoisted out of the water, advertising a cup of Clam Chowder for $0.75. Several other signs followed. The signs were displayed publicly as authentic, with Ivar's saying that for a time they would honor the $0.75 price for chowder. [3]
All of this turned out to be a hoax. The signs were sunk earlier in 2009, and local historian Paul Dorpat had deliberately furthered the hoax. Dorpat, of HistoryLink contributes a weekly column to the Seattle Times, and attempted to hoax that newspaper, whose first story about the billboards cast doubt on their authenticity, stating, "if it was a hoax, a prime suspect would be the Ivar's chain itself." Several minor clues were placed to guarantee that the hoax would eventually unravel. For example, the chowder price wasn't correct for the ostensible date, and the wrong governor's name was on the letterhead from the Department of Fisheries. [4]
In 2021, Kettle Classic Clam Chowder with Uncured Bacon, [5] [6] sold only at Costco, was recalled in 13 states for plastic in the Chowder. [7]
Chowder is a thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. Clam chowder from New England is typically made with chopped clams and diced potatoes, in a mixed cream and milk base, often with a small amount of butter. Other common chowders include seafood chowder, which often consists of fish, clams, and other types of shellfish; lamb or veal chowder made with barley; corn chowder, which uses corn instead of clams; various fish chowders; and potato chowder, which is often made with cheese. Fish, corn, and clam chowders are popular in North America, especially Atlantic Canada and New England.
Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some are found in freshwater. In addition, a few species of land crabs are eaten, for example Cardisoma guanhumi in the Caribbean. Shellfish are among the most common food allergens.
Mukilteo is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on Puget Sound between Edmonds and Everett, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 at the 2010 census and an estimated 2019 population of 21,441.
The Pacific geoduck is a species of very large saltwater clam in the family Hiatellidae. The common name is derived from the Lushootseed name, gʷidəq.
Ivar Johan Haglund was a Seattle folk singer, restaurateur and the founder of Ivar's.
Legal Sea Foods is an American restaurant chain of casual-dining seafood restaurants primarily located in the Northeastern United States.
"Old Settler's Song (Acres of Clams)" is a Northwest United States folk song written by Francis D. Henry around 1874. The lyrics are sung to the tune "Old Rosin the Beau." The song also goes by the names "Acres of Clams", “Lay of the Old Settler,” “Old Settler’s Song,” while the melody is known as “Rosin the Beau,” "Old Rosin the Beau," "Rosin the Bow," "Mrs. Kenny," "A Hayseed Like Me," "My Lodging's on the Cold, Cold Ground." The Sacred Harp song "338 Sawyer's Exit" also uses the tune. The tune was also used for the song "Denver", which was recorded by The New Christy Minstrels in their 1962 live performance album The New Christy Minstrels - In Person.
The Central Waterfront of Seattle, Washington, United States, is the most urbanized portion of the Elliott Bay shore. It runs from the Pioneer Square shore roughly northwest past Downtown Seattle and Belltown, ending at the Broad Street site of the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Casson Trenor is an American environmentalist, author, entrepreneur, and media personality. He is the author of a number of books on environmentalism and sustainable seafood, in particular Umijoo, a children's book, and Sustainable Sushi, a reference guide. Trenor and two co-founders created the world's first sustainable sushi restaurant in 2009, as well as the acclaimed plant-based Japanese restaurant Shizen in 2015. In recognition of his work, Trenor was awarded a Congressional Commendation as well as the title "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine.
Pier 54 is a tourist pier in Seattle, Washington. Previously an active shipping pier and warehouse, Pier 54 was originally known as Pier 3 until it was renumbered during World War II. This pier was also known as Galbraith dock and the Galbraith Bacon dock. Because of the large number of smaller local steamships, generally built of wood, that used the pier up until the 1930s, the pier was also known as the “Mosquito Fleet dock”.
Pier 57 is located in Seattle, Washington near the foot of University Street. Currently under private ownership, the pier is now a tourist attraction with gift shops and restaurants, and houses the Seattle Great Wheel.
Clam juice is a broth derived from steamed clams, which can be consumed on its own or used as an ingredient in various dishes and beverages.
Taylor Shellfish Company is an American seafood company based in Shelton, Washington. It is the country's largest producer of aquaculture (farmed) shellfish and has locations across Western Washington. The Taylor family started raising Olympia oysters in the 1920s. In the current form, the company, privately held, was started in 1969 as Taylor United by brothers Edwin and Justin Taylor, grandsons of James Y. Waldrip, an early Washingtonian who came to Seattle to work rebuilding after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 before moving south and founding the Olympia Oyster Company in the 1890s. Waldrip's company farmed the Olympia oyster found only in South Puget Sound. Justin Taylor, born 1921, the oldest oyster farmer on Puget Sound in the early 2000s, died in 2011.
Flying Fish Company is a sustainable seafood company which operates a fish market, restaurant, and food cart in Portland, Oregon.
Jack's Fish Spot is a fish market and seafood bar at Seattle's Pike Place Market, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Coastal Kitchen was a restaurant on Seattle's Capitol Hill, in the U.S. state of Washington. It closed in late February 2024.