NEW BEDFORD — The menu might seem fishy... but that's the point.

Union Flats Seafood Co. has opened in New Bedford with a mission of promoting underutilized fish on the menu.

“We want to bring some focus to maybe some lesser known fish as well as utilizing bycatch from fishing boats," said Amelia Ruvich, co-owner. "That stuff that they pull up that really has no place in the American market.”

Ruvich co-owns the recently opened restaurant with her husband, Joshua Lemaire. They also own DNB Craft Kitchen on 768 Purchase St.

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“At DNB we're really trying to highlight our neighbors, our farmers," said Ruvich. "So in this regard, we can sort of take it a step further with our seaport."

According to Ruvich, 99% of seafood caught in New Bedford waters is either exported or sent straight up to Boston. But, then comes back down and filters into New Bedford.

"No one is really utilizing this fresh, local product that's right outside our door," she said.

The dining duo partnered with chef Chris Cronin, the former executive chef at Farm & Coast Market and Little Moss, both located in South Dartmouth, to create a menu that brings awareness to this problem.

An uncommon menu

Located at 37 Union St, the Union Flats' menu features unique dishes such as a monk fish in a smoked tomato broth along with house-made focaccia and garden-grown mini tomatoes.

The fish and chips is with a tempura local hake, caper tartar, pickled vegetables and beef fat fries. There's even a twist with the calamari, which is tossed in a green curry vinaigrette, fennel, gooseberries and parmigiana.

Additionally, the menu has locally sourced oysters, clams and mussels from Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms Inc., Fairhaven Oysters, and RipTides from Westport.

"We’re trying to bring more awareness to this area," Ruvich added.

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The only non-seafood dish is the smash patty with American cheese, smoked house bacon, kewpie and spicy pepper relish. The bar features all minority- or female-made spirits, beers and wines.

“The whole goal is for people to come and feel the specialness of the food and the environment," Ruvich said. "And walk away having had a really wonderful culinary experience with us.”

The building, which was originally a boat engine repair shop, took about a year of renovations because the space was derelict and falling apart, said Ruvich.

"It's almost cavernous because it's half underground," she said, adding that she loves its stacked stone and lime walls. “It's a really cool space but it took a lot of rehab."

The restaurant is open Wed. to Sun. from 5 p.m to 12 a.m.

Opening a second restaurant

Born in Brockton, Ruvich is a trained artist and painter. She worked in Boston and moved to the New Bedford area in 2009.

“New Bedford is a place where you can be a young entrepreneur, and there are not a lot of roadblocks in your way," Ruvich said.

“I moved down here and noticed the food scene, especially from where I was coming from, was pretty terrible. I felt like we could make an impact."

In 2013, she convinced Lemaire, a Fairhaven native working in the Boston and Newport restaurant-scene, to open DNB Craft Kitchen with her. The two were married in 2018 and live in Fairhaven with their two young sons.

“When everything boils down to it, we're both artists, we love to create beautiful things, food or otherwise," she added.

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Union Flats has been a two-year project that was delayed due to the pandemic. With the help of their landlord, Ruvich said they were able to put the project on the back burner for a year.

"We just had to jump right into survival mode," she said. "We were lucky in that way that DNB really took off, it was successful right off the bat, and we had never had any of the struggle."

Union Flats finally opened in November 2021.

“People are loving the menu which is really great news," Ruvich said. "It's awesome when you do something you feel good about and people respond well to it.

"That just feels really good."

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Union Flats Seafood Co. opens in New Bedford; owners of Kraft Kitchena