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A Great Fish Tale
In 1968, he was only a boy of 11, but Joseph Melluso started working like a man in a small fish market on Long Island, New York. For several years, Joseph worked for the most successful filet houses, fish markets, wholesalers and retail joints in the country. He worked with successful cooks and lobstermen. He also worked for years clamming, eeling, fishing, transplanting and cultivating clam and oyster beds for the New York state conservation department. Seafood became his passion. He could not learn enough. He would extensively research the subject until he had learned all aspects of the subject.
Joseph was blessed over the years to be around some great men who were deeply entrenched in the “old school” fish business. It wasn’t until he learned to process a strain of conch called scungilli, a nearly extinct art taught by the old salts of the sea, that he was inspired to study cooking. Joseph received his formal training under nationally known cooking teacher and author, Libby Hillman, and world-renowned Tuscan chef and author, Giuliano Bugialli. After years of study and training, Joseph decided to open an upscale fresh fish market and restaurant. This was in 1979.
Though Joseph found that there was much more to learn about fish and restaurants, his success in the business seemed to naturally evolve.
In 1980, he opened Joseph’s of Oceanside, an upscale gourmet shop and a full-service, off-premise catering company.
In 1982, he became a consultant for the supermarket industry and several other fresh fish companies.
In 1984, Joseph became part of the Malibu Nightclub in Lido Beach, New York.
In 1986, he worked to open and enhance 5 retail and wholesale fish markets for Two Cousin’s Fish Company in Upstate New York.
In 1989, Joseph operated Boston & Maine Fish Company at Horton Plaza, San Diego.
In 1994, he opened Hudson Bay Seafood, at Point Loma Landing,
In 1998, the Galley at H & M Landing, and the Galley at Pearson’s Fuel Dock on Shelter Island, was opened.
In 1999, the Downtown Fish Joint opened.
While planning a restaurant in Old Town, San Diego in 1998, Joseph submitted a request for proposal. As he studied the history of the property, he discovered—ironically—that in 1856 a local hardware merchant owned this property. Of course, hardware merchants of the era did more than just sell hardware: the owner was also the local gadget fixer and tinsmith. As a “value added,” (and here’s where the irony comes in) he sold fish in front of the property.
Joseph decided to name his newest restaurant to honor him. However “The E.W. Nottage Tin Shop Museum Restaurant” proved a bit cumbersome, and so, the “The Tin Fish “ name was conceived.
Two years later, in 2000, the first The Tin Fish restaurant was opened on the Imperial Beach Pier and the business began to grow.
In 2001, The Tin Fish opened in the Gas Lamp District of San Diego.
In 2004, The Tin Fish was opened on Lake Calhoun in Minnesota.
In 2005, The Tin Fish came to Mukilteo, Washington.
The Tin Fish name continues to spread across the country with locations in Newburgh and Evansville in Indiana; St. Augustine; Florida, and Louisville, Kentucky; and there are more on the way.
So please tell a friend—share your experience of enjoying the very special food that is served and the immense passion that everyone at The Tin Fish exhibits along with the joy they love to share. It is your enjoyment of what they do so successfully that continues to fuel the growth of The Tin Fish.
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