Square today announced that Pike Place Fish Market, the legendary Seattle seafood institution that has called Pike Place Market home since 1930, has selected Square as its unified commerce platform. After more than a decade operating on another system, Pike Place Fish Market made the move to Square to modernize its day-to-day operations, streamline in-person payments, and build a technology foundation capable of growing alongside the business – all while staying true to the high-energy experience that has made it one of the most storied market destinations in the United States.

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Photo courtesy of Square

Photo courtesy of Square

Pike Place Fish Market is a fixture of the Pike Place Market that has drawn locals and visitors alike for nearly a century, welcoming more than 20,000 visitors daily. The business is as famous for its experience as its high-quality seafood: fishmongers toss purchased fish through the air in a tradition that dates to the 1960s, when owner John Yokoyama improvised a throw to a colleague to save time at a busy counter and turned a practical workaround into one of the most recognizable retail traditions in the world.

That moment of spontaneous ingenuity has since inspired books, documentaries, and a management philosophy studied by businesses around the world. Situated within one of the oldest and largest continuously operating public markets in the United States – a nine-acre historic landmark founded in 1907 and considered by many the soul of Seattle – Pike Place Fish Market has built its reputation on the belief that buying fish should be an unforgettable experience. But while the business continues to honor its history, its leadership knew it was time to update its technical foundation.

In 2018, four veteran Pike Place Fish Market fishmongers – Jaison Scott, Ryan Reese, Sam Samson, and Anders Miller, with over 80 years of combined experience at Pike Place – purchased the business from Yokoyama, who had spent decades building its “World Famous” reputation through exceptional sourcing, customer service, and community commitment. The new owners have carried that legacy forward, earning recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration as a legacy business honored for longevity and community impact, in a distinction celebrated by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, who dubbed the fishmongers “genuine ambassadors to the city.”

Modernizing Without Losing Its Infamous Heritage

For more than a decade, Pike Place Fish Market’s payment operations were tied to a bank financing arrangement that required use of an outdated processing provider. When that obligation evolved, the team saw an opportunity to rethink its approach, moving away from manual payment entry and a traditional setup, and instead toward a modern platform that could evolve with the business’ community and ambitions.

The need for reliability spans every season: in summer, the market faces an intense crush of foot traffic – with as many as four cruise ships docked simultaneously, each loading and unloading thousands of passengers directly in front of the market. In winter, the business flips, with roughly 80% of volume shifting to online and phone orders for nationwide overnight seafood delivery. Square stood out for its competitive pricing, the breadth of tools available to grow into over time, and an experience designed to be intuitive to hands-full operators from day one.

“For a small business like ours, it really comes down to relationships. That matters more to us than anything else. We love doing business with people we like doing business with, and that’s exactly what this partnership has been,” said Ryan Reese, Co-Owner of Pike Place Fish Market.

Pike Place Fish Market now runs on Square Plus with Square Terminal, giving the team a fast, reliable, and flexible payment experience that fits the high-energy, high-traffic environment of one of Seattle’s busiest destinations. With its built-in receipt printer, space-saving design, long-lasting battery, and ability to take offline payments, the Square Terminal proved the ideal setup for the brand’s unique, open-air venue and high foot traffic. On the backend, Square’s integration ecosystem means the business can adopt additional capabilities over time as its needs evolve – a model that matched how the Fish Market wanted to approach modernization: thoughtfully, and on its own terms.

The business’s commitment to sustainability runs alongside its commitment to community. Every species sold at Pike Place Fish Market is carefully evaluated for sourcing method and environmental impact before it reaches the counter – a standard the team holds as non-negotiable, and one that extends to how it chooses its business partners.

Looking ahead, the team is particularly excited about the marketing possibilities unlocked by Square’s automatic customer data capture at the point of sale. With hundreds of transactions daily – from local regulars to visitors from around the world – Pike Place Fish Market is building a growing database of customers it can reach directly for the first time, without requiring staff to manually collect contact information. For a business that has long relied on the power of the in-person experience to drive loyalty, the ability to stay connected with guests after they leave the market represents a significant new opportunity.

“Pike Place Fish Market has been turning a simple transaction into a memorable experience for nearly a hundred years – long before anyone used the word ‘experiential retail’ to describe it,” said James Schonzeit, Head of Food & Beverage at Square. “For a business with that kind of legacy, modernizing your technology is an important investment. We’re proud they chose Square as the platform to grow into and with, and we’re committed to making sure it helps drive their ambitions.”

To learn more about how Square powers food and beverage businesses, visit squareup.com/restaurants.

About Pike Place Fish Market

Founded in 1930 in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, Pike Place Fish Market is one of the world’s most recognized seafood markets. Known for its famous fish tossing, high-energy atmosphere, and commitment to exceptional seafood and customer service, Pike Place Fish Market has welcomed generations of locals and visitors from around the world.

Beyond the fish counter, Pike Place Fish Market has become known for its unique workplace culture and belief that work can be both meaningful and fun. Today, the market continues its tradition of connecting people through great seafood, memorable experiences, and the energy and spirit that have made Pike Place Market a Seattle icon for nearly a century.

About Square

Square helps businesses turn transactions into connections and businesses into neighborhood favorites.

In 2009, Square started with a simple invention – the first mobile card reader, which changed how the entire financial system thinks about small businesses. Square has since grown into a global business platform helping millions of sellers of all sizes participate and thrive in their communities. Whether independently run or a global chain, Square understands that sellers succeed when they have the freedom to focus on the experiences that keep customers coming back. From point of sale and payments to online commerce, staff management, cash flow tools, and more, Square brings together the tools sellers need to run and grow on one intelligent platform. For more information, visit squareup.com.

Disclaimer: Offline payments are processed automatically when you reconnect your device to the internet and will be declined if you do not reconnect to the internet within 24 hours of taking your first offline payment. By enabling offline payments, you are responsible for any expired, declined, or disputed payments accepted while offline. Square is unable to provide customer contact information for payments declined while offline. Offline payments are not supported on older versions of Square Reader for contactless and chip (1st generation, v1 and v2).

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