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Ray's Boathouse, located on the Bal lard waterfront, is a true Seattle in stitution. The James Beard Foundation Award-winning seafood restaurant is celebrating 50 years of serving fresh and sustainable seafood and has a loyal following of guests and visitors who enjoy its simple, fresh ingredients cooked to perfection.

In 1976, Ray's founding partner and chef, Russ Wohler, sought out sea food that he could purchase direct from fisherpeople. Ray’s had a wholesale fish buyer’s license and bought fish right off the boats that fished in Puget Sound in front of the restaurant. That freshness has been a consistent priority in the years since then. Despite fires, recessions and a pandemic, Ray's has evolved and adapted to the changing city around it while staying true to its roots.

"As a kid, I used to come visit Seattle every summer,” said Executive Chef Kevin Murray. “I would come to Ray's, sit on the deck, and eat fish and chips. I feel like I’ve been raised in the kitchen by Ray’s.”

Murray, who worked his way up at Ray's, leads an energetic and creative team in the kitchen. The entire staff knows that Ray's is a special place for Seattleites, as it has been the setting for many memories, from birthdays to family gatherings.

“Our guests are incredibly special and the reason we’ve been doing this for 50 years. We’ve seen generation after generation return to Ray’s with their kids and their kids after them,” said Douglas Zellers, Ray’s general manager and co-owner. “We have so many guests who become engaged and then married at Ray’s. It’s truly a magical place with a rich history, and I’m honored to be a part of it and shepherd in the start of the next 50 years.”

The Boathouse offers thoughtfully composed plates, craft cocktails, and award-winning wine lists, while the upstairs cafe offers classic seafood dishes with seasonal preparations for lunch, happy hour and dinner daily. With outstanding local seafood, renewed energy within its local, independent ownership, and a strong community bond, Ray's looks forward to serving many more generations of guests.

Washington state is the largest grower of asparagus in the United States. In 2020, approximately 19.3 million pounds were harvested in the state.

DID YOU KNOW?

Asparagus are perennial plants that are very long-lived and can last up to 25 years. Asparagus plants have been known to live for 100 years.

Asparagus can grow as much as 10 inches in one day in peak season! An asparagus farmer must harvest each field of asparagus every day of the season, by hand.

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Come late spring and early summer, the dinner tables of Washingtonians will be accompanied by one of our favorite fresh vegetables – asparagus. Washington leads the United States in asparagus production. We visited Columbia Valley Farms in Pasco to learn more about how asparagus is grown and processed.

Why is Washington ideal for growing asparagus?

The hot summer days with cool nights, coupled with the mineral-rich sandy soils of the Columbia Basin, makes for excellent asparagus-growing conditions. Our state's hardworking farmers hand-harvest asparagus from early April into the third week of June in a typical growing year. Currently, there are around 4,500 acres of asparagus grown in Washington each year.

Where does all that asparagus go?

Seventy-five percent of Columbia Valley Farm’s asparagus is fresh packed and sold to consumers all over Washington and the U.S. The other 25% is jarred and pickled. The fresh asparagus spears are tightly packed into jars with various spices and covered in a saltwater and vinegar solution. This makes for a delicious snack any time of the year.