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Skippers Seafood & Chowder House is a group of independently owned and operated restaurant locations licensed by Harbor Wholesale. There are currently licensed Skippers restaurants operating in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and California. Skippers produces clam chowder, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and coleslaw dressing, in both retail and industrial sizes. Retail items are sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and over the internet. There are over 50 Skippers fleet locations operating under limited license agreements with Harbor Wholesale.
 | |
| Company type | Independent, nonexclusive, site specific licensees |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast food, seafood, licensing, retail |
| Founded | 1969 in Bellevue, Washington, USA All Skippers intellectual property and rights were acquired in 2022 by Harbor Wholesale in Washington State. |
| Products | Fast food seafood including halibut, salmon, fish and chips, shrimp, prawns, oysters, clams, clam chowder, French fries and hush puppies, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, coleslaw dressing |
| Parent | Harbor Wholesale |
| Website | skippers.com |
History
editSkippers was founded in 1969 by Herb Rosen in Bellevue, Washington. It initially served fried fish, prawns, scallops, clams, and chowders. Its corporate headquarters were moved to Edmonds, and then to SeaTac. Skippers, Inc. was dissolved in 2007 and the Skippers brand was sold.
Skippers experienced rapid growth during the 1970s, with new restaurants being opened in several western states and in British Columbia, Canada. In 1989, Kansas-based NPC International purchased Skippers, Inc., closing some restaurants.[1] NPC International operated Skippers until it was purchased by Meridian Capital in 1995. From 1995 to 2002, the Skippers management team introduced a line of grilled entrees, including grilled wild-caught salmon, halibut, and chicken.
In late 2002, Skippers was purchased by a group of Pacific Northwest investors. New logos and products were introduced in the Spring of 2003, and again in 2007. As of 2007, there were Skippers stores operating in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
On December 12, 2006, Skippers, Inc., filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Court in Seattle during an organizational restructuring. Skippers, Inc. was liquidated on June 29, 2007. 14 of the 58 remaining stores were sold to various individuals and corporate interests through limited license agreements after Skippers initially filed for bankruptcy. After the sales of individual units and closures were finalised, Skippers, Inc., ceased to exist.
Starway Restaurants acquired the intellectual property of Skippers Seafood & Chowder in late 2007, forming a partnership with Harbor Wholesale to create the "Go Fleet" locations in 2013. Starway eventually sold the intellectual property to Harbor Wholesale at the beginning of 2022. As of July 2024, there are two conventional Skippers restaurants known as "Flagship Restaurant" operating in Washington state. Skippers offers a limited number of menu items in "Fleet Grab & Go" restaurants, typically found within convenience stores and supermarkets, in Washington state, Idaho, Oregon and California.
