History

In 1920, twenty year old James F. Turner emigrated from St. John’s Newfoundland to begin his career on the Boston Fish Pier. Hard work and a relentless passion for quality quickly distinguished “Jim” as a leader in the booming seafood industry. In 1954, Jim opened Turner Fisheries, a wholesale company, committed to supplying only the freshest New England seafood. With the growth of the commercial airline industry and the ability to fly fresh seafood anywhere in the U.S, the country’s finest restaurants and clubs began advertising: "Today’s fish flown in fresh from Boston’s Turner Fisheries." Likewise, Turner Fisheries proudly displayed its new title ”The nation’s leading quality seafood house." In 1978, Westin Hotel executives, so impressed with their Boston based supplier, sought permission to use the Turner Fisheries name for the their flagship restaurant in their Boston Copley Square hotel. The 1980’s marked a dramatic change for the New England seafood industry. Reduced fish stocks and newly enacted fishing regulations drastically altered the business landscape. In 1989, John Turner, Jim’s only son, created a new wholesale company, J. Turner Seafoods, in Gloucester, MA specifically designed to accommodate tighter supplies and stricter regulations.

J. Turner Seafoods Inc. continues the mission to wholesale only the highest quality seafood to the country’s most discerning customers. Over the next two decades, John Turner's sons learned all aspects of the seafood business from how quality fish is caught and processed to the importance of business partnerships with suppliers. They continue to build on these relationships and their reputation for integrity and quality making"Turners" the most trusted name for New England seafood. In 1994, John’s four sons opened Turner’s Seafood Grill & Market in their hometown of Melrose, MA. This authentic New England seafood house is complete with a fresh fish market and turn-of-the-century oyster bar. Turners expanded its retail operation to historic Gloucester, the nation’s oldest fishing port in 2006, with Turner’s Seafood Market. In the fall of 2010, the Turner family launched its on-line Dock to Door Seafood Market shipping fresh fish daily overnight from Gloucester to anywhere in the continental USA. Continuing to expand its culinary footprint and notoriety in offering diners New England's best seafood experience, in November 2013 historic Lyceum Hall in Salem became home to the family's latest seafood experience. Turner's Seafood at Lyceum Hall provides classic lunch and dinner fare, creative daily specials, authentic shuck and serve oyster bar and the city's only seafood market. Today guests from all over the country can enjoy New England's finest seafood at Turner's neighborhood locations or in the comfort of their own homes.