Laura Anderson (Newport, OR) is the owner and operator of Local Ocean, a fresh seafood market and restaurant on Newport’s Historic Bayfront. She draws on her connection to fisherman and background in marine science to source the best Pacific Northwest catches and serves them to customers in a way that highlights the quality of coldwater fish.
Bio
Laura Anderson is the owner and operator of Local Ocean, a fresh seafood market and restaurant on Newport’s Historic Bayfront. She grew up immersed in regional fishing culture, and many of her first jobs were working for her dad, a commercial salmon and crab fisherman. As a kid, she branded his buoys with his signature number (624) and cleaned the gear during down time. Later, she worked with him aboard his small boat on salmon trips and summertime Dungeness crab runs. Anderson’s path took her from the family fishing business to a Peace Corps project on coastal resource management in the Philippines and then to contract research in the marine sciences. When an opportunity arose to form a business partnership around a fish market in Newport, she jumped at the chance. Her confidence came from her knowledge of local fisheries and seafoods: “We have these coldwater fish, and they have high oil content; they’re big fish, they’re fatty, and they just taste awesome.” In 2002, Anderson launched Local Ocean. When she sat down with her partners to plan the Local Ocean menu, she was adamant about doing “fish and chips” the way her mom did them. In the Anderson family, fish was a staple, but it was never deep fried. Instead, her mother lightly breaded the fish with crumbled saltines, or whatever dusting was on hand, and then pan fried it. That’s the way customers get it at Local Ocean. “Making sure that the fish is always the major investor and not enshrouded in some overpowering sauce has always been a big part of our philosophy,” says Laura Anderson.
