Craig and Sandy Gildersleeve opened the first Flying Fish Company in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1979 — the year before their son Lyf was born. Lyf, now president of Flying Fish Company, has spent his entire life around fish, including an aquaculture education at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University. Flying Fish has three locations: Sandpoint, Idaho;Durango, Colorado;and Portland, Oregon. The Portland location opened in late 2010 as a food cart at the D Street pod on Division Street. In 2011, we opened the fish shack on Hawthorne Boulevard. In 2016, we moved into a stand at Providore Fine Foods on Sandy Boulevard. In February 2020, we opened our standalone location on East Burnside, adding a restaurant, oyster bar, and beer garden to our fish market. At Flying Fish Company, we serve up sustainably sourced seafood with bold, global flavors that are as vibrant as Portland itself. Whether you’re here for freshly shucked oysters, a delicious sit-down meal, or the perfect fish to take home, every bite tells a story of responsible sourcing and culinary creativity. From food cart beginnings to our full restaurant, oyster bar, and fish market, we’ve stayed committed to quality, community, and sustainability. Stop in for happy hour or explore our rotating seasonal menu—you’ll always find something fresh, flavorful, and unapologetically delicious.
