It is with great sadness that Phillips Seafood conveys the passing of Brice R. Phillips at the age of 90 on Friday, July 01, 2011. As his family mourns his passing, so too will the thousands of lives he touched through his leadership of Phillips Seafood Restaurants.
Brice was a role model to not only his family, but to the employees who worked for the popular seafood restaurant company that grew out of humble beginnings in Ocean City, MD.
Brice and Shirley, his wife & partner in founding Phillips Seafood, were both natives of Hooper’s Island, MD on the Chesapeake Bay. Brice and Shirley started Phillips Crab House in 1956 with little money but a whole lot of determination. They came from families that lived off the water. They knew that their opportunity to make their mark was to take the crabs from the family’s seafood plants and open their own restaurant. What started as a “crab shack” in the burgeoning beach town of Ocean City, MD, soon became a restaurant seating 1200 and covering one square block of land.
Brice is survived by his childhood girlfriend and wife of 68 years, Shirley, sons Stephen and Jeffrey, daughters-in-law Maxine and Janet, 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
His restaurant group has grown over the past 55 years to include 19 Phillips restaurants and as well as a line of retail products under the Phillips Seafood brand name and seafood products for the foodservice industry. The hallmark of their growth came in 1980 with the opening of Phillips in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor. Brice and Shirley were touted in national magazines from USA Today to the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post & The New York Times. They have enjoyed being part of the top 100 highest grossing independent restaurants (Restaurant & Institutions magazine) since opening, and even held spots in the top 10 for many years.
Brice received numerous awards over the years: Doctorate of Hospitality from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Doctor of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management from the Baltimore International College; State of Maryland Resolution in recognition of his service on the Chesapeake Bay Trust; 2008 Citizen of the year from the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce; Induction into the MD Business Hall of Fame by MD Chamber of Commerce; the Henry L. Dunnick Award from Restaurant Association of MD for enhancing national reputation of MD Cuisine for leadership in the Food Service Industry; Restaurant Association of MD , Restaurateur of the Year;
His life will be celebrated by those who knew him best and the many whose lives he touched when they dined in his restaurants or worked for this great man.
For more information, please contact Honey Konicoff at hkonicoff@phillipsfoods.com, 443-263-1204.
Source: Phillips Foods
