Harbor Wholesale Acquires Skippers Brand

LACEY, Wash. — Harbor Wholesale closed its acquisition of the brand and intellectual property of Skippers Seafood & Chowder from Starway Restaurants LLC.

In assuming rights to the 52-year-old brand, Harbor will support Skippers five remaining retail locations, online retail business and 128 quick-serve restaurants (QSRs) found in convenience and grocery stores throughout the Northwest.

Starway Restaurants acquired the Skippers Seafood & Chowder intellectual property in 2007. Owner Scott Way and his team began working with Harbor in 2013.

"With their shared northwest roots and passion for customer service, quality, and value, Skippers and Harbor are the perfect fit," Way said. "Over the last eight years, Harbor has gotten to know Skippers and its customers. Nobody is better positioned or better suited to carry the Skippers brand into the future than Harbor."

When Rick Jensen, president of Harbor Wholesale, joined the team nearly two years ago, Harbor identified an opportunity for Skippers to join Harbor's robust portfolio of brands, according to the company.

"We are excited to be the stewards of this nostalgic brand and further develop the concept in the northwest and beyond," Jensen said. "We see a lot of opportunity to build on the signature fish & chips and clam chowder that Skippers is known for with our team of experts, that is 100-percent focused on our customers' success."

Based in Lacey and founded in 1923, Harbor Wholesale is the largest independent, fourth-generation family-owned distributor in the Northwest and serves 4,500 convenience stores, independent grocers and QSRs.