December 23, 2020 — Transitioning from building a successful seafood restaurant chain to focus on retail, e-commerce, and other channels is almost like going home for Legal Sea Foods President and CEO Roger Berkowitz.
On 22 December, the Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based company announced it is selling its 27 restaurants to PPX Hospitality Brands, which also operate the Smith & Wollensky and The Strega Group restaurant chain.
December 23, 2020 — The Boston-based restaurant chain Legal Sea Foods has been sold, Legal’s chief executive said Tuesday.
Legal’s 25 locations will now be operated by Boston-based PPX Hospitality Brands, which owns the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse restaurants and Strega Italian restaurants, according to a statement.
“It’s a bit of mixed emotions,” Legal President and CEO Roger Berkowitz told Boston.com. “It was a family business — particularly a family business that deals directly with the public. One of the great things, I suppose, about the restaurant business in general is that you come in contact with so many people from so many walks of life.”
Berkowitz will retain ownership rights of the Legal Sea Foods name for the company’s e-commerce and retail business.
December 21, 2020 — If it’s not Roger, is it Legal?
That’s the question as Roger Berkowitz, the chief executive and public face of Legal Sea Foods, is poised to sign off as soon as Monday on the the sale of the restaurant business his family started in 1968 to PPX Hospitality Group, owner of Smith & Wollensky steakhouses and three Boston-area Strega restaurants.
The pending deal is the latest chapter in Legal’s local lore: Roger’s family opening the first Legal Sea Foods restaurant in Cambridge, next to the fish market of the same name his father had opened in 1950. The expansion into Boston, the suburbs, and down the Eastern Seaboard to Florida. The feud between Roger and his brother Marc, after Roger took over as CEO. And the comical ads — some groan-inducing, some not-quite suitable for a family restaurant — with the tagline, “If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal!”
December 3, 2020 — The 2021 edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America will take place Sunday, 11 July, to Tuesday, 13 July, organizer Diversified Communications announced on 3 December.
The trade show, which brings together seafood suppliers and buyers and which also features an educational conference, will take place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
November 20, 2020 — The Coast Guard reported it medevaced an injured fisherman 160 miles east of Boston on Thursday.
The crew of the 72-foot commercial fishing vessel Jennifer Anne notified the Coast Guard around 3:30 a.m. that a 35-year-old crew member had fallen overboard and was recovered by the other crew members.
The fisherman was experiencing hypothermia-like conditions and had minor lacerations, the crew reported
November 2, 2020 — The 2021 editions of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America and Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global, have been postponed to later in the year.
Seafood Expo North America, which had been scheduled for 14 to 16 March, 2021, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., will now take place in the summer of 2021. The event’s organizer, Diversified Communications, is working closely with the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to find new dates for the event in mid-July. [Editor’s note: Diversified Communications also owns and operates SeafoodSource].
May 18, 2020 — Jared Auerbach first saw the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in early January, when seafood orders from Boston’s Chinatown — and Chinatowns across the country — slowly stopped coming in.
At first, the founder of Red’s Best, a Boston-based seafood distributor, wasn’t too worried.
“The second week of March, we were down about 20 percent,” he said. “Things were starting to get a little weird. We got through the weekend and I lost some sleep over the weekend, but I felt good.”
On March 17, restaurants in Mass. were ordered to shutdown, and Auerbach, who founded Red’s Best in 2008, saw his business fall out from under him as he made the difficult decision to furlough the vast majority of his staff. For someone who spent years intently focused on balancing the supply of the sea with the demand of the public — many of them restaurant chefs — he now wondered: “What’s our contingency plan?”
April 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries announces a new voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA) east of Boston.
This DMA is based on an April 9, 2020, sighting of an aggregation of right whales from a Boston-area beach by private citizens.
Mariners, please go around these areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside these areas where groups of right whales have been sighted.
East of Boston DMA is in effect through April 24, 2020.
42 47 N
42 05 N
70 26W
71 23W
Active Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs)
A mandatory speed restriction of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) is in effect in the following areas:
Mid-Atlantic: November 1-April 30
Cape Cod Bay: January 1-May 15
Off Race Point: March 1-April 30
Great South Channel: April 1 – July 31
More info on Seasonal Management Areas
Right Whales Are Migrating
North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. NOAA is cautioning boaters and fishermen to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking all fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales and remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements. Commercial fishermen should use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.
Right Whales in Trouble
North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are only about 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.
North Atlantic right whales are NOAA Fisheries’ newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future.
In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.
April 6, 2020 — The following was released by Seafood Expo North America:
Today, Diversified Communications, organizer of the annual Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, announced the new dates for its 2020 event. The expo will take place at the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center this September 2020, with an exhibit hall open on September 23rd and 24th, and a conference program that will start on September 22nd.
In the last few months and weeks, the seafood industry and community, along with the rest of the world, have been experiencing some of the most tumultuous, emotionally and economically challenging times. “While navigating this unprecedented situation, we know there is a need for business continuity and are committed to providing a platform that will bring back together the industry suppliers and buyers who, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, were prevented from meeting in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Liz Plizga, Group Vice President, Diversified Communications.
The September dates were carefully chosen in consideration of the recent escalating situation with COVID-19, the venue availability, as well as feedback from customers and high-volume retail and foodservice Key Buyers from North America.
“It is fair to say that this year’s event will not be like any other years,” added Plizga. “However, the Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America team is dedicated to delivering a high-quality event and services that are as similar as possible to what our customers have come to expect over the years.”
The September edition will feature a solutions-driven conference program led by industry experts covering today’s most relevant topics. The exhibit hall, which will be held in Halls B and C, will highlight special programs like the New and Featured Product Showcases where buyers can identify the latest seafood product, equipment and services, innovations and trends.
In the coming weeks, Diversified Communications and its official partners, will reach out to exhibitors, buyers and other seafood professionals to provide further details about the September event. New information will be included at seafoodexpo.com/north-america.
The 2021 event is scheduled during the same time frame as in past years: March 14-16, 2021.
April 3, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:
During a time of such upheaval and uncertainty for all it is exciting that the forward-looking planners at Diversified rescheduled Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America for September 22-24, 2020 in Boston.