The name synonymous with seafood for 150 years

5 Generations of Seafood and a Savannah Tradition

Drew and Hal Ambos

Co-owners and brothers, Hal and Drew Ambos, are 5th generation seafood dealers. For many years their nationwide seafood sales have included shrimp (with an emphasis on domestic wild caught shrimp) as well as a variety of fish, crab, and oysters. More recently the brothers have added full-scale distribution to the company’s list of assets. The company’s distribution is not, however, limited to seafood. Their partnerships with local manufacturers, Claxton Poultry, Roger Wood Foods, FraLi Gourmet Pasta, allow them to offer a wide variety of other items for distribution including chicken, turkey, sausage, hot dogs, pork, Boston butts, ribs and other pork items. Current territory for distribution covers the southeast United States, predominately Georgia and South Carolina. The Ambos family passion for the seafood industry dates back to the mid 1800’s. Just outside of the Savannah city limits, the town of Thunderbolt, GA found its place on the map due to the impact of the seafood industry with the Ambos family at the helm.

Henry F. Ambos, Henry F. Ambos, Jr, and Louis G. Ambos II

Starting around 1860 with Henry Ambos, and continuing on with his son Louis Ambos and grandson Henry F. Ambos, Sr., the family demonstrated expertise in all aspects of seafood ranging from owning processing plants and unloading docks, an oyster packing house, commercial fishing, canning of terrapin and clam, and, of course, commercial shrimping.

Through the years, the Ambos family developed an increasingly sophisticated line of seafood products and the technologies to process, package, distribute and market them efficiently. Their innovations actually helped spur the evolution of the American consumer’s appetite for shrimp and other seafood.

Did you know?

In 1948, Henry F. Ambos not only helped pioneer a method to bread and freeze fantail shrimp, but also developed a system for his company, Trade Winds, to become the first business in the country to market and widely distribute frozen, pan-ready shrimp. With that innovation, Trade Winds began transforming the seafood industry by making frozen, ready-to-cook shrimp easily available across the country to people who had not had access to seafood before.

The Ambos family legacy lives on in Hal Ambos, Louis Ambos, and Drew Ambos

Drew Ambos talks to customers at Whole Foods

Today, Ambos Seafoods is stronger than ever, carrying on the family legacy of integrity, knowledge and business practices and distributing their fine products to restaurants locally and throughout the nation.