On Coast Highway, tucked under the bridge that goes over the Back Bay is a little piece of Orange County history: a shack, floating on pontoons, where the Pearson family has been selling fish and seafood since 1970.
It was then that Huntington Beach resident and lifelong fisherman Roy Pearson, expecting to be downsized in the aerospace industry, quit his job in order to pursue his passion and started a fishing business to support his wife, Vi, and six children. On his first day out, he caught one lobster and brought it back to the parking lot, where Vi promptly sold it. This distribution of roles continued throughout the life of the business. Roy built a small structure at the end of the parking lot, and Pearson's Port was born in February 1971. The business thrived with a customer base that included the large new Vietnamese immigrant community who sought out the quality and freshness of the product.