Fresh from the start . . .
An Austin institution since 1938, Quality Seafood Market’s origin was humble — a stall in Starr's Fruit and Vegetable Market, located on Congress Avenue just across the street from the State Capitol. But Garnett Lenz and John Starr were passionate about providing their customers top-grade seafood, and it didn’t take long for word to get around.
By 1950, the business had expanded beyond the capabilities of its original site, and it moved to more spacious accommodations near the corner of Trinity and 19th (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). In 1957, Chester C. Husted bought the thriving business.
Austin Seafood Headquarters
In 1970, just as Austin began staking its claim as a music lover's paradise with the opening of the Armadillo World Headquarters, Quality Seafood Market moved to its present, even larger location at 5621 Airport Boulevard. Husted added an in-store restaurant, allowing customers to both dine in and carry out.
Quality Seafood Market was acquired by Sam Eaves in 1990. Eave’s extensive wholesale experience helped dramatically increase the scope of the operation, enabling it to process thousands of pounds of fresh seafood every day.
Keep Austin fresh
Paul Huntsberger became the proprietor of Quality Seafood Market in 2004. Having spent much of his youth fishing in the Pacific Northwest (his father was a guide on the McKenzie and Deshutes Rivers), Paul developed a lifelong love — and wide-ranging knowledge — of seafood.
After moving to Austin, he became a loyal customer of Quality Seafood Market for years, during which time he held a number of sales and marketing positions with several Fortune 100 companies. When the opportunity to buy the business arose, he didn’t hesitate.
"Becoming Quality Seafood Market’s proprietor allowed me to, in a sense, get back to my Oregon fishing roots," Paul says. "It was a way for me to reconnect with an industry I essentially grew up with, and one that I love."
Since taking ownership, Paul has overseen a number of expansions and improvements to the business, including interior and exterior renovations, additional restaurant seating, and an expanded menu. The most visible change, however, has been the Aw Shucks! Oyster Bar, voted the “Best New Oyster Bar in Austin” in the 2005 Austin Chronicle readers’ poll.
