Big Jim's Seafood open in York
A pair of lifetime York County residents have taken the helm at one of the area’s newest seafood restaurants.
Big Jim’s Seafood opened just before Labor Day Weekend on Industrial Highway in York.
Big Jim’s owner, Jim Kurnik, hired head chef Ryan Wickline, of York, in June to take point in the kitchen. A month later, they hired Jason Smith, also of York, to be the restaurant’s sous chef.
“It’s a Godsend,” Kurnik said of his two chefs. “It’s amazing how they think alike on quality and creativity.”
Wickline, 39, grew up in Hanover and was the head chef at Hogan’s at Valley Green Golf Course in Newberry Township. He taught himself to cook years earlier while working at the Hanover Country Club, learning under club head chef J.J. Nassar.
“He always complimented me on being a sponge,” Wickline said.
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He stayed in the York area because he wished to cook for his close supporters.
“I think it’s really important to have my friends and family close enough to make them happy with the food I’m preparing,” Wickline said.
Smith, a York Suburban High School graduate, has lived in York for the last several years. He was the head chef at the York Blue Moon before coming to Big Jim’s.
“I had to have somebody on the same caliber as Ryan,” Kurnik said. “It turns out he’s just as passionate.”
Wickline and Kurnik lauded Smith’s ability to stay calm under pressure.
“Jason is the most even-tempered person,” Kurnik said. “He doesn’t fold under pressure.”
Wickline added, “It takes a lot for him to get his feathers ruffled. He really keeps his calm.”
The pair’s ability to work together and create tasty seafood dishes excites Kurnik.
“It’s not that their food is just good, it’s freaking awesome,” Kurnik said.
Kurnik, who also owns Barracuda’s Seafood Pub in York, opened Big Jim’s to provide a casual-dining seafood option in the area. He molded Big Jim’s in the same light as The Philly Café, a casual seafood restaurant in York’s west side that closed in the 1970s.
Big Jim’s fashions itself as a Maryland-style seafood restaurant featuring entrees such as jumbo lump crab cakes and hard shell crabs with a custom Old Bay-style seasoning. The restaurant features non-seafood options such as steak, burgers and wings.
The restaurant’s ambiance continues the seafood vibe, with large fish, crab nets and images of ocean scenes hung along the walls. A faux-wood floor and antiqued, weather-beaten booths complete the setting.
With Wickline and Smith steering the ship in the kitchen, the pair hope to make Big Jim’s a household name in York County.
“We want you to come here, get your money’s worth, a taste you love and for you to come back,” Wickline said. “We cook with a lot of passion. We put our hearts and souls into the food, and I think you can tell that when you eat it.”
Anthony J. Machcinski is the Food and Drink reporter for the York Daily Record and FlipSidePA. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or email him at amachcinski@ydr.com
If you go…
What: Big Jim’s Seafood House
Where: 2252 Industrial Highway, York
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
More information: BigJimsSeafoodHouse.com