San Diego’s Most Famous Fishmonger Is Going Solo

Local seafood guru and the unofficial mayor of the San Diego food and restaurant scene, Tommy Gomes, who has long been the public face of Catalina Offshore Products, will no longer be involved in the wholesaler’s day-to-day operations. During his 15-year tenure with the company, Gomes spearheaded the development of Catalina’s walk-in fish market, founded Collaboration Kitchen, a nonprofit dinner series, and played a vital role in Catalina Offshore receiving a grant in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries to help expand the demand for opah and other underutilized species.

Under his new brand, Tommy the Fishmonger®, Gomes will explore new projects and continue his advocacy work related to the sustainable seafood industry. He will still act as an ambassador and chef liaison for Catalina Offshore while building an independent consulting business that will work with restaurants, markets, and other organizations through cooking demos, educational classes, and speaking engagements. Gomes will next lead the October 10 edition of the Sea to Fire seasonal dinners at BIGA.

The well-respected fishmonger is planning to refocus on creating content for his YouTube channel, “Cooking Seafood With Tommy Gomes” and growing Uni Goop® and Uni Butter®, his two fishing product businesses. He told Eater that he is also looking to launch his own retail and wholesale seafood market, which he hopes to open by Spring 2020.