History
National Fish and Oyster
Company was founded by Samuel George Bulldis in 1929. Sam
came to America in 1912 at the age of 14 from the Greek
island of Marmara. After only a few years in the United
States, Sam returned to Europe in 1918 with the 41st
Division to fight for his new country in WWI, earning the
Silver Star. He returned from the war and began his long
career in the fish and oyster business by taking a job at
Bay City Market in Tacoma.
Destined for bigger things, he went into business with the
Victor Brothers in 1928, and in 1929 purchased the business
outright and renamed the company National Fish and Oyster
Co. His success in the market encouraged him to expand,
opening another fish market and a wholesale outlet over the
next few years. In 1934, he opened his own oyster shucking
plant on Tacoma’s Marine View Drive and in 1939 began
growing oysters at our current location in the shadow of
Mount Rainier on the Nisqually Flats.
Today, National Fish and Oyster still harvests shellfish
from these beds in the fertile waters of South Puget Sound.
Sam passed away in 1974 and his three sons, George, John and
Jim took over the business.
Now, a third generation of the Bulldis family is taking on
leadership of National Fish and Oyster Company.