Meet The Owner: Blue Sea Seafood Market & Restaurant

Next time you’re craving seafood, instead of going to the grocery store, head over to the for either today’s fresh catch or a freshly prepared meal.

Having grown up in Boston, owner Young Ha’s family has always been in the seafood industry. Working alongside his parents he learned the family business at a young age. Inspired by his father, together they opened Blue Sea in 2006.

Blue Sea Seafood Market & Restaurant
7110 N. Nebraska Ave.
813-234-5085
Owners: Young and Thinh Ha

A lot of fish from the sea:  Working with fisherman from all over Florida, Blue Sea receives shipments almost daily. With a wide selection of fish –King Fish, Nile Perch, Grouper, Trout, Snapper, Catfish, Crab and more Blue Sea’s selections and prices are very reasonable (Grouper - $7.99/lb). Not only do they offer fresh fish, they also special order items on a regular basis. If you spent the day on the water and don’t feel like cleaning what you reeled in, then bring it in and they’ll clean it for you.

What’s on the menu:  Open for lunch and dinner Blue Sea specializes in fish sandwiches and seafood combos. Broiled, fried or steamed you can order from the menu or pick your choice of fish from the market and they’ll cook it to order. They also serve a mean chicken sandwich, wings and fried rice dishes.

It’s a family affair: With mom doing the cooking and his wife handling the money, working with family has its ups and downs Ha said. "You can always rely on them but the downside is you have different egos and they want to do thing one way and you want to do it another way. It can be frustrating but at the end of the day having your family to support you helps a lot. I’m very blessed.”

In the neighborhood:  Ha loves his location in Seminole Heights because the neighborhood has such a variety of people. "We get people who have lived in Florida for a long time and grew up eating local fish. People from Jamaica, Cuba, people from the islands and all over the place that grew up eating fish.”

It’s about the people: Ha’s favorite part of the business is meeting customers and interacting with people. He takes pride in providing customers with a quality food at affordable prices. "We do the best we can and try to provide a good product at a reasonable price for the people. People like us. We spend money in our local businesses also and we see what it’s like and want to be treated the same way. We take that aspect into our service and taking care of our customers.”

Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays.