Phil's Fish Market & Eatery, the Castroville seafood institution famous for its cioppino, is officially on the market after more than four decades in business. Phil DiGirolamo is putting up for sale his multi-generational family businesses, Phil's Fish Market & Eatery and Phil's Snack Shack, with the restaurant taking offers and the nearby snack shack listed at a specific asking price.
As reported by Edible Monterey Bay, Restaurant Realty is handling the sale, and the brokerage's listing frames the deal as a chance to acquire an established seafood-industry name with a proven history, loyal following and significant brand recognition. The listing also describes an opportunity to continue what it calls an iconic California seafood institution and build on its reputation, recipes and nationwide customer base. According to montereycountynow.com, Restaurant Realty is taking offers on Phil's Fish Market, while the snack shop is listed at $995,000.
Patrick Totah of Restaurant Realty says interested parties should contact him to begin making an offer, and the process includes signing a nondisclosure agreement. Totah said everything is positive, and per montereycountynow.com, he confirmed Phil's will remain open through the sales process. He added that it's important to retain the staff — many have been there for years and they are like family — and continue the legacy, a sentiment the outlet quoted directly.
A Moss Landing Legend That Moved Inland
Phil DiGirolamo opened the restaurant in 1982 in Moss Landing, and his cioppino drew massive lines at that original location for decades. The business was at its last Moss Landing spot for 22 years before the lease situation changed, according to the Mercury News. Phil's left that longtime home after the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute did not renew its lease, as reported by KSBW.
The restaurant relaunched in the heart of downtown Castroville in 2022, moving into a historic building there. DiGirolamo also listed his Moss Landing snack shop for sale, a separate property that sits beside Elkhorn Slough and still operates under the Phil's banner, offering soups, burgers, breakfast burritos and seafood sandwiches. The snack shack building spans 5,422 square feet on a 21,780-square-foot lot, and it's the one property among the listings with a publicized number attached: $995,000. Two neighboring Castroville properties tied to the business, measuring 5,100 and 3,800 square feet, have no publicized asking price. In all, the listings include three properties total.
Cioppino, a Food Network Win, and a Presidential Pardon
DiGirolamo's culinary reputation extends well beyond Monterey County. He once beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a Food Network “throwdown,” a credential the business has leaned on for years. His cioppino remains the signature draw: the current menu lists cioppino in a bowl for $34.95, served with green salad and garlic bread and packed with clams, mussels, white fish, Dungeness crab, prawns, calamari and scallops in a tomato-based sauce. For those further afield, a cioppino bucket serving two is sold for $149.95 through Goldbelly, a bespoke food concierge service.
DiGirolamo's backstory includes an unusual chapter: Bill Clinton issued a presidential pardon commuting his sentence for importing by fishing boat what is now legally grown and sold. That detail has long shadowed the folklore around the restaurant's founder, even as the business built its name on seafood rather than controversy.
Per Totah, DiGirolamo hopes a buyer will keep the name, perpetuate the legacy and retain the long-tenured team. Totah also said Phil is ready to retire and wants a buyer to care for the staff, who he described as like family to him. For now, both Phil's Fish Market and the snack shack remain open, with no timeline given for when a sale might close.
