Printed takeout bags for Redondo Beach, from the pier to the parking lot.

Seafood on the pier since 1952

Redondo Beach eats like a harbor town. The pier has been feeding people fresh fish for a long time. Old Tony's opened there in 1952, started by Tony Trutanich Sr., a World War II veteran and commercial fisherman, and it is still known for seafood and Mai Tais. Around it you get fish and chips windows, poke bowls, crab shacks, fish tacos and plenty of beach cafes.

Here's the catch with seafood to go. It's heavy, it's often wet, and it usually comes with sauce. A pound of steamed shrimp, a basket of fried calamari and two cups of cocktail sauce will tear a thin bag before your customer reaches the sand. People also walk a long way from the pier to where they parked. That walk is where a weak bag fails and a strong printed one wins.

A bag that survives the walk to the car

Our kraft bag carries up to 22 lb. It has a square bottom, a 3.5″ gusset on each side and stands 14″ tall, so food boxes and sauce cups sit flat instead of tipping on their side, even while someone carries it down the pier with a drink in the other hand.

Put the heaviest box on the floor of the bag, sauce cups in the corners, and anything crispy like fries or tortilla chips on top where steam can get out. Fried fish stays crunchy that way, and nothing leaks on the car seat.

Thursday mornings next to the pier

The Redondo Beach Certified Farmers Market runs every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at George Freeth Way and the south side of Veterans Park, right next to the pier. That brings a steady stream of shoppers and beach walkers within a few blocks of your counter, all morning long.

Those people are already on foot with bags in their hands. Hand them lunch in a bag with your logo and it rides along through the market, back down the pier and out to the beach. Every person they pass sees your name. That is advertising you don't pay for twice.

Beach carts need papers first

Thinking about a cart near the beach on weekends? Redondo Beach asks food sellers to turn in a city business license application, an LA County Public Health permit, a food handler or food protection manager certificate and a commissary contract, plus other papers, before they get a sidewalk vendor permit. Get that done first, then order the bags.

For the print, ocean colors like teal, navy and coral look clean on white kraft, while a one color black or red logo pops on brown. You have a 12 × 14 in front to work with and the print itself is free. Want the bigger picture? Start with our guide to printed takeout bags for Los Angeles restaurants. If you sell fish tacos, the taco shop bag guide covers how to pack salsa so it doesn't spill.