PUBLISHED IN SAUCE MAGAZINE - BY AMANDA BRETZ // NOVEMBER 6, 2023

When you envision fresh seafood, St. Louis might not be the first city that comes to mind. It’s location from the Gulf and both coasts make it one of the most inconvenient places to purchase fresh fish and seafood. That’s all about to change. City Seafood opened its doors on Oct. 1, 2023, with a vision of processing and delivering top quality fresh fish, seafood, caviar and other high quality products to premier dining establishments throughout the St. Louis metro area.

Though new on the scene, City Seafood comes with years of experience. Co-owner, Mike Vujevic has been in the seafood business his whole life. “I love working with the restaurants, country clubs, caterers, and hotels. I value my long-time relationships with the restaurant owners and chefs.” Mike has worked in every part of the business, from cutter to purchasing, to delivery, and everything in between. He has over two decades of experience in the seafood, wholesale, and food service business. He was previously Vice President of Bob’s Seafood, a well-known St. Louis establishment that also serviced a wide variety of retail and wholesale customers through the St. Louis area. “I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.” With his experience and contacts in the business, Mike’s goal is to provide the St. Louis restaurant scene the freshest variety of product in the business.

City Seafood’s Co-owner, Brad Burns, who launched several other area businesses and is a Board member of local St. Louis charities such as Haven House and Junior Achievement, is a St. Louis native and excited about the partnership. “We want support local businesses and help St. Louis grow its restaurant, country club, and wholesale scene through quality offerings.  There are a lot of opportunities.  St. Louis is a great place to live and work, and I like investing in the community.”    

After connecting through a mutual friend, the two began laying the groundwork to open City Seafood. From finding a warehouse, to putting together a staff and sourcing inventory, City Seafood is now able to offer St. Louis the best variety of fresh and frozen products. Their offerings include selections such as sushi-grade tuna, salmon and halibut, scallops, live oysters, clams, shrimp, and crab legs. Other less known seafood is also available such as grouper, branzino, triple tail, and arctic char. Mike’s motto is “If the chef wants it, we can do it.” Most of the inventory is sourced from the Northeast, Florida, and Louisiana, as well as California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, and Mike’s team includes cutters and drivers with years of experience serving the unique needs of their customers.

“There’s a definite need for City Seafood in St. Louis since most restaurants serve some sort of seafood, and there’s lots of restaurants that want sushi-grade tuna and Alaskan halibut,” Vujevic said. The goal is to start off with developing their brand as a wholesaler and then expand into the retail market with a direct to consumer offering in the near future.    

Though the business just opened, the two have a big vision for the company. “Bob’s Seafood was a very successful business, but we want to expand beyond that,” Burns said. The partners have already found their groove within the company and each work to bring their own unique skillsets to provide the best environment for their customers, as well as for their team. To achieve that, Vujevic lends his expertise with years of industry, product, client, supplier, and distribution experience, and Burns lends a strategic vision to the business having launched and grown several other successful start-up businesses from the ground up.  

Though the Gateway to the West may not currently be known for its seafood, Burns and Vujevic are making it their goal to bring premier product to the forefront to help make this vision a reality for St. Louis’ chefs and their fine dining establishments. 

For more information and to submit your info for their mailing list, visit cityseafoodco.com.