Ivar's history

For instance, when Christmas 1940 rolled around, Haglund paraded through Seattle’s public market with a baby buggy decorated with Christmas ornaments.

In another instance of Haglund’s showmanship, in 1945, a railroad tank car containing syrup ruptured a coupling and spilled, and Haglund donned hip boots, apron, and aquarium hat, and waded into the growing puddle of syrup with a large plate of pancakes and a spoon.

In 1946 Ivar opened the renowned "Acres of Clams" restaurant.

Some worked for a fee, others for free and for the chance to be joined with the opportunist who had wrestled with the "Great Syrup Spill of 1947." Twice the editors of The Seattle Times put a stop on Ivar stories, but to no avail.

Silva claimed to be the East Coast champion and a sure thing to "beat the West Coast guy by a bucket or two." The 1948 match was close, but the trucker lost to the cabby by four steamed Pacific Northwest littleneck clams: 131 to 127.

In addition, it was stated that there were accompanying documents such as naval architectural drawings, billboard design blueprints, a payment check signed by Haglund, and a Department of Fisheries permit document apparently signed on July 16, 1954.

In 1956, it opened Ivar’s Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle, which became one of Seattle’s classiest and busiest eateries, requiring reservations a week in advance; the company’s flagship, Ivar’s Fifth Avenue was Ivar Haglund’s personal favorite.

In 1960, the company remodeled the Fifth Avenue and renamed it the Captain’s Table.

In 1963, Post-Intelligencer columnist Emmett Watson followed Ivar through a workday that started with lunch and continued to calling it quits at 2:30 p.m.

Then, in 1964, Ivar’s changed the concept of the Captain’s Table to more of a casual dining establishment and moved it to a new location with a great view of Elliott Bay.

In 1965, Ivar bought Pier 54 and composed a full-page advertisement to announce the purchase and to line up his puns. "For me to own a wharf would be a paradox (one dock is plenty) --­ besides it would take acres and acres of clams to swing the deal.

He worked his way up to manager in 1970 and eventually moved through the company ranks to oversee all Ivar’s locations.

In 1971, largely on the basis of the Salmon House, ­ especially its interior -- the Seattle Historical Society gave Haglund and Adams its Award of Merit for historical contributions to Seattle.

In 1976, he purchased the Smith Tower, Seattle’s first skyscraper, and flew a custom 16-foot windsock shaped like a salmon on top of it.

Ivar Haglund with windsock on Smith Tower, 1977

In 1980, Ivar's Fish Bars suddenly multiplied when Ivar's Seafood Inc. purchased the 14 Arthur Treachers Restaurants­ and converted them.

In 1983, Ivar was elected to a six-year term on the Seattle Port Commission.

The seafood bars were initially franchised to individual owners under the Arthur Treacher’s name; then in 1984, Ivar’s repurchased all of its franchised seafood bars.

Mahoney, Sally Jean, “When You Follow a Legend, Keep Clam,” Seattle Times, March 5, 1985.

Nogaki, Sylvia, “Ivar’s Quits Clam-Farming Business—Chowder Clams Now Will Come from East Coast,” Seattle Times, January 28, 1987, G1.

In 1990, the company purchased Kidd Valley, a local hamburger chain known for its fresh Angus beef burgers, made-from-scratch fried onion rings and mushrooms, and ice cream shakes.

The Dancing Clams also made it onto television; in 1991, the company ran a series of Dancing with Clams commercials that spoofed the movie Dancing with Wolves.

In 1994, the company launched a foodservice operation, providing its popular and award-winning chowders to the cafeterias at the Washington State ferries, Boeing, Microsoft, and Sea-Tac Airport.

Ivar's fish bar, Pier 54, Seattle waterfront, June 2000

After Kingdon died of a heart attack in 2001, the company intended to slow its development for a couple of years.

In the end, by 2004, the chain had experienced five consecutive years of record growth in sales and profits.

The state-of-the-art facility began production in May 2005.

As the November 12 Seattle Times piece noted: "In September, sales of clam chowder more than quadrupled when compared to September 2008, from 19,000 cups to 83,000 cups."

Ivar's hoax billboard, Seattle, October 10, 2009