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FOOD & DRINK
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | OCTOBER 3, 2021
Food & Drink
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Chula Seafood sailing along to 3rd site BY MALLORY GLEICH Progress Contributor
J
im He�lin has owned a commercial sword�ish boat, docked in San Diego, for over 25 years. He and his team harpooned and harvested sword�ish, helping Chula Seafood get its start. Even before the Valley had fresh�ish markets, the He�lin family was selling sword�ish straight from the docks. “In the commercial �ishing industry, you go out and �ish, bring the �ish to shore, and someone buys it and takes it to wherever it goes next,” owner Mandy He�lin said. “We decided to become our own distributors and built relationships with other commercial �ishermen in San Diego.” The family bought black cod, California halibut, groupers, yellowtail and more from the other �ishermen at Chula’s headquarters on Point Loma. As the business continued to grow, Heflin and her husband, Jon – Jim’s son – faced a career decision. “We were both in odd jobs, we had our daughter, and we were �iguring out what to do. I looked at Jon and said, ‘we need to �ind a way to bring your dad’s �ish to Arizona,’” He�lin said. At the time, she had been in the restaurant industry, starting in Seattle when she was 14, and Jon had been in sales. So, Jon began ferrying between Phoenix and San Diego, bringing tuna and salmon to the Valley’s food distribution industry. “We’re a wholesale company as well, so the local restaurant community has helped us grow, which ties us back to the family and community aspect,” He�lin said. Their �irst retail front was Vincent’s Market on at 40th Street and Camelback Road, where they sold fresh �ish by the pound as well as poke bowls and smoked dishes. In summer 2016, the He�lins connected with Jon’s childhood best friend – Hogan Jamison, who worked with True Food
John and Mandy Heflin with Hogan Jamison make a “perfect trifecta,” Mandy said for their restaurant operation. (Stephanie Slezak Photography)
Swordfish tacos are among the specialties at Chula Seafood. (Stephanie Slezak Photography)
Kitchen – and together opened the �irst Chula Seafood restaurant. “We came together as the perfect trifecta, and through the product we bring over and our mission, we attracted amazing talent, and the culinary team has just really made us shine,” He�lin said. The �irst location, at Hayden Road and Roosevelt Street in Scottsdale, opened in
2016. Now, Chula is expanding its operations to North Scottsdale with Chef Kyle Kent handling the opening at Thompson Peak and Hayden Road. He�lin hopes to open thee next March or April. The new location will boast a �ish market, patio and bar. Chula Seafood is also a fresh �ish market with high-end, sashimi-grade �ish cuts, including sword�ish, salmon, ahi tuna, and scallops, which are the staples at each location. Guests can also �ind sea bass, grouper, branzino, snapper, oysters, shrimp, scallops and albacore tuna, depending on the location they visit. “Our south Scottsdale location is more raw-based, so it’s got bolder creative �lavors,” He�lin said. “We break down our albacore tuna, and that’s the star of most of our dishes, and the green chile tuna melt on noble bread is nationally recognized.” The Uptown Phoenix location at Camelback Road and Central Avenue boasts a full hot kitchen. Along with poke bowls, there
are �ish and chips, �ish tacos, clam chowder and the California sword�ish burrito. He�lin said that the inspiration behind the Chula’s recipes comes from the different cultures within the company. There’s an Asian in�luence, a southwest in�luence and a Hispanic in�luence. The chefs like to make familiar dishes and put a twist on them. “We do a pastrami-salmon sandwich, but there’s no pastrami involved. It’s a pastrami-pepper-smoked salmon with caraway slaw, a challah bun, jalapeno 1000 island and pickles, but it feels like you’re eating a pastrami sandwich,” He�lin said. “The �ish speaks for itself, but we like to think outside the box.” “Chula” is a Spanish slang word meaning beautiful or cute. Growing up in Baja, California, a Heflin family friend had a Labrador retriever with the same name. They loved the dog so much that they named their boat after her. “Throughout the years, there’s been six versions of Chula. Right now, she’s a custom-designed 68 Hoquiam yacht that was built in Washington. We thought it translated nicely to our company in that we serve high-quality, beautiful �ish.” “We’re pretty passionate about what we do, and continuing to share that with the Valley is so exciting. From the farmer’s market to where we are now and seeing people’s excitement and expansion in general; we feel so fortunate,” He�lin said. Chula’s owners are looking for a new home for their south Scottsdale location so they can add a bar, patio and larger hot kitchen, but they want to stay in the same area. So, for now they’re still looking for a new spot. Chula will be celebrating the �irst store’s �ifth anniversary in-house with raf�les and food specials. Information chulaseafood.com.
