Long John Silver's specializes in seafood, and was founded by Jim Patterson in Kentucky in 1969. The brand's name is derived from the character of the same name in the novel "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. The first Singapore outlet opened in 1983 at Far East Plaza. In 2013, a nutrition and health policy watchdog group noted that Long John Silver's "Big Catch" meal contained high level of trans fat, saturated fat and sodium. The company announced that it had eliminated trans fats from its menu by January 2014.
