Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill

Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill

Scope Design, Fabrication, Installation
Completed 2019
Location San Diego, CA
Area 4,700 SF
Type Commercial / Restaurant
Client Social Syndicate / Blue Water
Photography Studio MAHA

The Long Story
The owners of Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill resolved to expand their beloved San Diego, CA, brand to better serve the community who’d waited patiently in the lunch line at their humble maiden eatery since its 2004 inception. Seeking a larger location, they wanted an easy, yet elevated atmosphere in which to epitomize its fresh casual, family-friendly concept. When an accommodating space with the perfect Pacific backdrop became available in their home town of Ocean Beach, they knew it was “The One.”

Centered on the ground floor of an L-shaped ocean front plaza, Blue Water’s 4,700 square-foot presence encompasses a previously underutilized 1,300 square-foot terrace. With the clever incorporation of tiered communal seating and a market-lit pitched roof, the terrace is now at a relaxed max capacity, offering ocean views for everyone and all-season service.

A beachier blend of interior and exterior was achieved by replacing façade walls with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors. Oversized Corten planters lodging lush greenery further the merging of the spaces, and along with galleries of the owners’ own fishing photos and an undersea mural by Zoke on the market’s concrete-tiled wall, contribute to its warm interior ambiance. A massive Blue Water fish logo is inlaid on exposed aggregate concrete floors under a hypergloss coating.

Naturally-hued sealed oak planks are patterned orthogonally throughout the space, marking various seating area parameters and enticing guests to explore options from intimate deuces to oversized booths and communal tables. Dark mangaris tables framed in copper patina conjure the feel of a fishing vessel’s galley table surrounded by its crew, while others feature silkscreened marine creature art by Paul Elder on concrete tops. Completing the fish motif, life-sized replicas of large game swimmers buoy focus upward, complementing a load-bearing original truss utilized to provide accent and subtle directional aide.