Original Smokehouse | SeaBear Smokehouse

About Us

Welcome to the Smokehouse!

At SeaBear, we’re all about delivering you unforgettable seafood experiences that you'll love, and love to share with family and friends.

OUR STORY - This short video tells the story of SeaBear ... how we came to be, and how we do what we do.

OUR HISTORY - The timeline below calls out just a few of the key milestones in our rich 65 year history.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING - To learn about how we approach environmental responsibility click HERE

Anacortes fisherman Tom Savidge and his wife Marie built a backyard smokehouse and began selling smoked wild salmon to local taverns.

With that, Specialty Seafoods (later renamed SeaBear after a Native American legend) was born…

Left: Tom Savidge aboard his beloved fishing boat, The Messenger

Right: The original Smokehouse and delivery truck.

Bottom right: Tom delivering salmon to local taverns

The tavern owners loved Tom’s smoked salmon, but asked him to preserve it longer.

Being an inventive guy, Tom answered their request with a whole new idea in packaging: The Gold Seal™ pouch, which preserves the salmon naturally, so no refrigeration is required. This innovation (for which he received a patent) made it easy for tourists traveling through the Northwest to take Tom’s salmon back home, or to ship it to family and friends.

Left: The original patent Tom Savidge was awarded for preserving fish in the retort pouch.

Right: Tom’s original invention (it was a clear pouch at the time).

The Gerard & Dominique brand of world-class lox became part of the SeaBear family in 2008.

Acclaimed chefs Gerrard Parrat and Dominique Place could not find a lox they would be proud to serve in their restaurants, so they created one, modeled after the great smoked salmon of Europe. Soon, other chefs wanted to buy this spectacular smoked salmon, and with that Gerard & Dominique was born—a brand truly Created By Chefs, for Chefs, that can now also be enjoyed at home.

Left: Chef Dominique (left) and Chef Gerard (right)

Right: European Style Smoked Salmon Lox

Our Artisan Seafood Still All Comes Directly from Our Anacortes Home

During 2022 we are celebrating 65 years in the town where it all began—Anacortes, Washington. A few years back, our local mayor Laurie Gere declared July 29th to officially be ‘SeaBear Day’ in Anacortes, which we now celebrate every year. Our team has grown to over 80 who work at the smokehouse (a long way from the days of Tom Savidge and his backyard smokehouse!), all proudly building upon our long, rich heritage in this idyllic waterfront community, here in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.

Top left: The beginning of the Smokehouse building expansion in 2012

Bottom left: SeaBear employees posing with a salmon at the Smokehouse

Right: Mike Mondello, president of SeaBear Smokehouse

We ship our full line of seafood to customers in all 50 states.

We remain dedicated to the same principles upon which Tom Savidge founded our company decades ago: Make great food people love, and always listen to our customers. We stand behind everything we do with our unconditional Fisherman’s Oath guarantee.

If you are ever in our part of the world please stop by our smokehouse!

Left: Visual map of a real shipping day at SeaBear, with deliveries across the nation.

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