SANDPOINT — When Lyf Gildersleeve was a student at Sandpoint High School, he never saw himself working in the fishing business.

While his parents operated the Flying Fish Company, named that because his father flew fresh fish from Seattle to Sandpoint every week, Gildersleeve wasn’t keen on carrying on the family business. 

"In this high school yearbook, it had an interview with me or something and it said I wanted to be an astronomer,” Gildersleeve said. “It was just the family business and that was that, but I was never like ‘Oh, I want to be a fishmonger.’” 

However, after spending a year in Ecuador as an exchange student with a shrimp farming family at 16 years old, Gildersleeve found an interest in raising fish. This led him to pursue a degree in aquaculture at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, but he soon left the fisheries behind after his friends convinced him to move out to Utah. 

Gildersleeve said he spent the next seven or eight years “ski bumming,” studying at the University of Utah and eventually working in real estate. That was until the great recession in 2009 forced him back into the family business. 

"I got laid off from my real estate job and I couldn’t really find any other work, so then I was like well ... I know how to do fish,” Gildersleeve said. “I got a $10,000 loan, bought a tent, coolers and a scale and I started selling fish at the farmers’ markets in Park City.” 

Now over 45 years after his father, Craig, opened his fish business in Sandpoint, his son is returning to his hometown with his own food truck. The Frying Fish takes recipes, sustainability practices and the health-focused from Lyf Gildersleeve’s Portland restaurant to the Oak Street Food Court. 

Gildersleeve said that the decision to return was an idea he has mulled over for a while and this year everything fell into place. He said that the truck has been an exciting adventure, while allowing him time to spend time with his father and soak up the sun during a Sandpoint summer. 

“It was just kind of time to have some self-reflection and be able to come back to my roots,” Gildersleeve said. “I’ve had so many people coming and visiting, you know all these people who used to babysit me or used to be my teacher or coach, colleagues or friends from high school, it’s been so fun.” 

The Flying Fish Company in Portland, Ore., is heading into its 15th year and serves as Gildersleeve’s main venture. The combination restaurant and fresh fish market is focused on sustainability and quality fish, Gildersleeve said. 

As a part of those sustainability efforts, Gildersleeve founded Sustainable Fishmonger, a nonprofit arm of the Flying Fish Company. In addition to running Sustainable Fishmonger, Gildersleeve works on the Marine Fish Conservation Network, an organization focused on conserving and revitalizing natural fisheries. 

"It’s a deep value to me because I know humans have such a huge impact on this planet,” Gildersleeve said about sustainability. “I’ve got kids, so I want them to be able to enjoy and have the fruits that we get to enjoy and not have a diminishing ocean.” 

Sustainable Fishmonger’s purpose is to provide educational, hands-on experiences about the importance of sustainable fishing, Gildersleeve said. He emphasized the importance of connecting people to the food they eat, comparing his field trips to oyster farms and fisheries to winery tours. 

"So, if I can give them these experiences that affect their decisions, I’m planting a little seed in you,” Gildersleeve said. “Hopefully those people are going to make better decisions for the rest of their lives.”  

To get a taste of the Gildersleeve’s family recipe, find the Frying Fish food truck at the Oak Street Food Court until the end of September; it’s open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.