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Aloha Fish Company, purveyors of premium, responsibly sourced seafood from the Pacific Ocean, got its unplanned start in the early days of the pandemic. A meeting and events planner on furlough, Jenn Cheung Cline missed the fresh fish she enjoyed in her native Hawaii, a longing made more pronounced during the shutdown.
While talking with her cousin in Oahu, she learned he could ship her heart’s desire — if she ordered 80 pounds. “Eighty pounds! How can I deal with 80 pounds?” she remembers. She turned to friends and neighbors, many of whom eagerly claimed a portion of the shipment, and the first order was made.
Each recipient was bowled over by the difference. The sustainably caught fish, packed and shipped the same day, possessed a texture and flavor markedly better than anything they had tasted before. They wanted more. Jenn’s husband, Jerry, a chef for the Tennessee Titans, enjoyed butchering the fillets and connecting with customers. When he told his wife, “Well, this is fun!” that was all it took. An unforeseen business was born
Selling through social media channels, farmers’ market booths, and pop-ups around the city, the Clines gradually built a dedicated following that appreciated the variety and caliber of their offerings.
Five years later, Jenn notes the company has come full circle. She and Jerry have opened a large-scale market in OneC1TY, right next to Sand Bar, where she hosted her first pop-up. Aloha Fish Company is located in the container building that once housed the plant-based restaurant Avo. You can’t miss it, with outlines of giant tuna painted atop cheerful tropical colors.
“Hawaii is a place in many people’s minds that you visit in celebration — a honeymoon, a special birthday trip, a long-awaited vacation,” Jenn says. “Being from there, I wanted to bring parts of that paradise here for people to experience, even if only in a small way.”
The first thing you notice is the floor: gorgeous epoxy paint in hues of blue, green, and white that creates an immersive oceanic feel. Plants native to Hawaii thrive in a corner window. Freestanding shelves display Hawaiian-made rubs, sauces, and seasonings, including lava salt, guavapineapple teriyaki glaze, shoyu soy sauce, and sushi no tomo vinegar — ingredients Jenn knows and prefers. Her philosophy is simple: “If I miss it, then so does someone else.”
Lining the back wall are cold cases filled with a spectacular array of fish and seafood. You’ll find thick fillets of wild-caught shutome (swordfish), mahi-mahi, and Bigeye ahi tuna; sides of Ora King salmon; trays of jumbo Kauai shrimp; and prized Hokkaido scallops from Japan. Against a backdrop of rippling blue water, two large screens list weekly specials: one featuring premium fish by the pound, raw bar offerings, and DIY take-home kits; the other showcasing prepared foods such as soups, poke bowls, musubis (Hawaiian handhelds made with sushi rice, nori, and Spam), sashimi, and a traditional Hawaiian plate of smoky, slow-cooked Kalua pork with white rice and Hawaiian mac salad. While the Clines empower customers to cook seafood at home — with guidance, recipes, and seasonings — they also offer excellent ready-to-eat dishes.
The poke bowls are a standout, fully customizable and beautifully composed. Ours began with white rice, topped with edamame, seaweed salad, sweet onions, cucumber, scallions, orange and green tobiko (regular and wasabi-infused flying fish roe), ogo (red seaweed), and furikake seasoning. Deftly cut pieces of rich ahi and melt-in-your-mouth Ora King salmon were seasoned simply with shoyu, sesame oil, and Hawaiian salt. The result was healthy, visually stunning, and absolutely delicious.
Prefer something cooked? Don’t skip the soups Jerry makes daily. Though they step outside Hawaiian tradition, they showcase the same premium ingredients. His New England clam chowder is loaded with bivalves in a velvety bisque, and his gumbo — packed with chicken, rice, and Portuguese sausage — has serious depth and heat.
You’ll also want to try the Kalua pork plate lunch, featuring luscious, shredded pork with traditional sides of white rice and creamy, sweet-tart mac salad.
For dessert, Jenn delivers classic island treats: shave ice made with house syrups like lychee, Blue Hawaii, and POG — a blend of passion fruit, orange, and guava — along with pineapple soft-serve, known in Hawaii as Dole Whip. Tangy, refreshing, and pure joy.
Jenn sums up their mission with unbridled enthusiasm: “We don’t sell to restaurants. We are here for you, to provide freshness and taste you can trust. It’s spendy, but the difference is clear. Through our DIY kits, you can make fish tacos with pineapple salsa, hand rolls, even clam linguine. We have miso marinade to replicate Nobu’s miso cod. We teach classes in sushi making and oyster shucking, and we provide great recipes. We want to help you shine.”