SANTA CRUZ — Well known for its local specials and astonishing ocean views, Firefish Grill has been a staple on the Santa Cruz Wharf for decades albeit under a few different names and owners, but retained by the same family since 1980.
“Me and my dad got in an argument one day in the kitchen,” said Firefish Grill owner Mark Gilbert. “He said, ‘Why don’t you just buy me out then?’ and I said, ‘OK fine.’ That’s how I ended up buying the restaurant.”
In 1989, ownership of what was then called Malio’s restaurant, after the original owner Malio Stagnaro, passed from restaurateur father, Jim Gilbert, to his son and current owner Mark Gilbert. The eatery then changed names to Gilbert’s Seafood Grill, and about two decades later to Firefish Grill.
In April 2022, in the Firefish Grill kitchen, a flat top grill was accidentally switched on while the kitchen was being cleaned after the restaurant had closed. The establishment had a robust fire suppression system in place, which should cut the gas and electricity, and extinguishes any fire as soon as it’s detected, but the system malfunctioned.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business for 42 years and things like this happen, usually in the middle of the night, and then in the morning you clean it up and maybe you’re an hour late to open,” said Gilbert. “But with the system being down, the fire went up and around the hoods and there was a big hole in the ceiling.”
The day was tragic not only because of the fire damage. Gilbert, who also owns and operates the Dolphin restaurant farther down the wharf, found out that same day that one of the restaurant’s longtime servers and his good friend, Rosalba “Rosy” Gonzalez was killed in a car crash. She had worked at the Dolphin for more than two decades.
“It just knocked me over,” said Gilbert. “It really puts this whole fire thing in perspective. It was heartbreaking.”
After taking some time to grieve and assess the damage to the Firefish kitchen, Gilbert decided that he wanted to radically remodel the space — combining Woodies Cafe with Firefish — something he had stewed over for years. After the city sent the plans back without approval, Gilbert decided to put that grand plan back on the burner and keep the restaurant mostly the same. With about $2 million in fire damage, a reluctant insurance company, and revenue loss around about $1 million a year, he wanted to get back to business.
“I ended up just keeping it the way that it was, structurally,” said Gilbert. “We did get a few more burners and a little more refrigeration space.”
He also took the opportunity to modify the restaurant’s palette, which didn’t always suit his taste. The interior was designed in the late 1980s by Gilbert’s dad, and had a darker vibe that reflected the zeitgeist of the time, but Gilbert felt was outdated. He changed the scheme to something cooler with blue and white walls and walnut tabletops.
“It was so dark and so 80s with all this mahogany,” said Gilbert. “It was like a bad, matching leisure suit.”
Gilbert is glad to soon be back in business after more than a year hiatus, and with a brighter feel. The walls will also be adorned with the photography of world-famous local surf and skate photographer Dave “Nelly” Nelson. The pictures will feature QR codes that lead to the stories behind the images.
A silver lining to the ordeal is that Gilbert, who is a cook alongside being a restaurateur, has had lots of time to dial in a new clam chowder recipe with his head chef Jesus Becceril.
“We’re adding a few items that we’ve been working on,” said Gilbert. “We have a chowder that is outrageously good. It’s made with shrimp stock, fresh scallops and prawns, halibut and bacon. The potatoes are deep fried, and we have a mirepoix that we saute in butter and simmer it all down and then finish it with cream and a little sherry. We’ve been refining it while we’ve been down and it’s fabulous.”
Although Gilbert had hoped to reopen Firefish at the start of June, snags in the supply chain have pushed the date back a few weeks, but he plans to open June 20, or not too long after. He has retained some of his old staff, but not all of them, and they’ll all be working long shifts until he can hire more.
“We’re going to get walloped as soon as we open the door,” said Gilbert. “Everybody’s asking me when we’re going to open and I’m glad that we finally will be.”
