Here, in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by cactus and sagebrush and palo verde, there is a place where you can eat fish that was gliding in the Pacific yesterday. How Jon Heflin and Hogan Jamison pull this off at Chula Seafood is simple, really: They have a boat.
The boat, a 50-foot commercial fishing vessel owned by Heflin’s father, cruises the waters off of San Diego, harpooning and hand-lining to amass a sustainable catch. Two or three days a week, Jamison and Heflin drive to San Diego to make a pickup, returning with freshly caught fish with which they stock their eatery/market/wholesale operation in South Scottsdale.
Chula Seafood has a San Diego location, opened in 2009 and operated by Heflin’s father. The pair opened a wholesale market in Scottsdale two years ago from which more than 30 Valley restaurants and hotels source their fish. On a great week, Jamison and Heflin go through about 3,000 pounds of fish.
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