A wonderful dinner out with family and friends filled with love and laughter…there aren’t many things better. Now add a menu filled with delicious, fresh seafood dishes prepared from scratch, a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere where the customer always comes first, and affordable dining options for the whole family and you’ve just described a place where memories are made.
At Sea Island Shrimp House, you can always expect top quality seafood, family recipes prepared from scratch and a wonderful dining experience for the whole family. Sea Island was founded in 1965 by Dan Anthony, his wife Chrissy and their longtime family friend, Henry Reed. Over 50 years later, it continues to be family owned and operated with Dan and Chrissy’s son, Barclay, now at the helm. Barclay had devoted his entire career to carrying on his family’s legacy of quality, value and service.
“Growing up in the family business, the most impressive thing I remember is the level of dedication and work ethic it took on the part of both of my parents to maintain a successful business. They were at it literally 24-7. Being the kid of the founders of Sea Island was always a source of pride because everybody always loved Sea Island, and I knew it was because of the huge effort my parents put into it every day.”
As Sea Island has grown to include six San Antonio locations and one in New Braunfels, the pillars which it was founded upon have never crumbled. Quality, “center of the plate” seafood will always take precedence over fancy, expensive buildings and décor or a large profit margin so that the customer can always expect excellent quality seafood at surprisingly reasonable prices.
“Being family owned is a real asset when it comes to how we operate our business,” explained Barclay. “For example, there are times when upholding our quality and value promise means giving up profitability for a certain period of time. We will always choose what is best for our customers over short term profit, something I believe non-family owned businesses have much less tolerance for. ”
The entire Sea Island family is committed to serving you just as if you were a part theirs. From the moment you walk through the door, you will be made to feel welcome and greeted like old friends.
“At our very core, we are a deeply hospitable company,” said Barclay. “Our owners, managers and employees are genuinely interested in our guests’ satisfaction. These are the types of people we hire and who are happy working at Sea Island. Our people and culture are what I am most proud of.”
There are many ways that Sea Island is different rom other restaurants in San Antonio. You’d be hard pressed to find another seafood restaurant that carries such a large variety of high quality, scratch-cooked seafood, and serves it in a fast, casual, no-tipping format for a very reasonable price, all while taking good care of its people and facilities. Sea Island’s “number system” is also a unique take on the service side of the industry.
“It was developed in the 1970s by my mother in order to insure that our guests were always served freshly prepared food soon after being seated,” explained Barclay. “She first realized that a system was needed on the day a customer went to the counter to pick up her food and there were no unoccupied tables for her to sit at. So, her food got cold while she waited for a table! With the number system, the kitchen can see the guest’s order number on a digital reader as soon as they are seated. The kitchen can then make sure not to cook anyone’s order too early.”
Sea Island believes that in order to serve delicious food, you must start with prime ingredients. That’s why they serve only real, wild-caught seafood which means less harmful chemicals in your food, premium taste, and a better environment. As an official “GO TEXAN” restaurant, Sea Island sources their ingredients from the Lone Star state whenever possible including their famous wild caught shrimp, fresh from the Texas Gulf, hand peeled, and prepared using family recipes, some of which are over 100 years old! Try one of their best sellers, the World Famous Charbroiled Shrimp – lightly breaded shrimp, skewered, seasoned with lemon pepper, grilled and brushed with butter. Barclay’s favorite dish is the “Lemon Pepper Fish,” a twist on this popular shrimp dish.
“There is a funny story behind this. My niece use to eat the lemon pepper breading off of the charbroiled shrimp and just leave the shrimp behind! Because the shrimp was so much more costly than our house fish, my mother took a piece of white fish and broiled it with Lemon Pepper breading. Well, I guess you could say a star was born, because this is now one of our top sellers and it is delish!”
The Anthonys and the entire Sea Island Family have worked hard to become the best seafood restaurant in San Antonio and it’s the smiling, satisfied customers that are their ultimate reward.
“As CEO of Sea Island, the thing that brings me the most pride is the high level of customer satisfaction our team has maintained for so many decades,” said Barclay. “I think every employee in the company feels this pride. Every time any of us tells someone in San Antonio where we work, we always get a super inspiring, ‘Oh you work at Sea Island, that’s one of my favorite restaurants!’ or ‘I’ve never had a bad meal at Sea Island.’ These types of responses have to be earned as a result of extreme and continuous effort by a dedicated and talented team of high quality people. At Sea Island, that’s exactly what we have, and I am so proud of it!”
Head by a Sea Island location and let them know Groomer's Seafood sent you, we've been in business with these people for many years and consider them part of the Groomer family. We know they'll take good care of you and that you'll have a new favorite seafood restaurant in them!
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