Our Story
Fifty years of opening
new doors.
The original California Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar was established in San Francisco in October of 1976 by Malcolm Stroud, Martin Newman, and Lloyd Wiborg.
Malcolm and Martin were owner-operators of "The Coachman," and Lloyd had been a partner in "The Coalyard" — both San Francisco restaurants. Malcolm and Martin purchased the building at the corner of Scott and Lombard, originally intending to update it and sell it. After consideration, they decided to open a seafood restaurant instead. A friend of Malcolm's suggested they contact Lloyd as a potential investor and co-owner.
They opened to remarkable success, often seating over 500 diners a day with only 62 seats. In 1977, Nation's Restaurant News named them the "highest grossing per seat restaurant in the nation."
Through various expansions and licensing deals, there have been ten Scott's in California and one in Hawaii. The San Jose restaurant opened in 1985 and has been a valued part of the downtown community since.
Steve Mayer joined the Scott's family in the early 2000s. Having served as Malcolm's long-term accountant, he helped launch Scott's Palo Alto and run Scott's San Jose.
After Malcolm passed, Steve brought in Sammy Reyes as his partner. When Scott's San Jose was bought out of its lease on Park Avenue, Mayor Sam Liccardo reached out to Steve to work with his team to find a new home for the restaurant. That new home is the current location on 1st Street, which Scott's San Jose moved to in 2020. Through a lot of sacrifice and hard work, Scott's San Jose stayed open throughout COVID as a place the downtown community could enjoy.
In 2024, Scott's San Jose entered into a long-term lease with the city's Rotary Center to expand offerings into full-service, large-scale events. The team hopes to have a full-service bar and rooftop patio there in the next year.
Scott's has built a history on finding new doors to open whenever others close. Through numerous moves, redecorations, and new concepts, the heart of Scott's has always been the dedicated team.
Scott's thanks you for your business over the years and looks forward to continuing to serve you in the future — for your dining, catering, and event planning needs.
Today