June 15, 2022 — Several U.S. restaurants are celebrating National Lobster Day on 15 June, even though there are two National Lobster Day celebrations in the U.S., with the other one falling on 25 September.
Panera, Legal Sea Foods, and Corvina Seafood Grill are some of the national chains that have launched lobster promotions for the holiday.
June 30, 2021 — After a very rough year in which it carried out closures of several of its restaurants – some temporary and some permanent – Legal Sea Foods is considering an expansion.
In late December, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based PPX Hospitality, which also operates the Smith & Wollensky and The Strega Group restaurant chains, acquired Legal’s restaurants and quality control center. As part of the deal, Legal Sea Foods President and CEO Roger Berkowitz retained exclusive ownership rights of the Legal Sea Foods’ name in retail, e-commerce, and other non-restaurant channels, but PPX is now making executive decisions concerning the future of the company’s restaurants, and is looking to grow the well-regarded restaurant chain and reinvigorate its menu.
March 9, 2021 — Legal Sea Foods is “considering its options” after a federal judge ruled against the seafood restaurant chain on its COVID-19 insurance case, the company’s attorney told SeafoodSource.
The Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based foodservice chain, which became embroiled in a separate controversy last month involving its creditors, sued Strathmore Insurance Company in May 2020 over failure to cover business losses Legal Sea Foods incurred from the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 18, 2021 — Several unsecured creditors of Legal Sea Foods still have not been paid by the seafood restaurant chain after its sale to PPX Hospitality Group, according to a news report.
It is not clear how many vendors are still owed funds, but several lawsuits were filed by vendors to Legal last year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Legal to close its restaurant dining rooms for months, according to The Boston Globe.
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!”
May 4, 2020 — Some U.S. restaurant chains have filed for bankruptcy, and many other U.S. restaurant seafood chains have been forced to temporarily close their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
West Palm Beach, Florida-based TooJay’s Original Gourmet Deli, which operates 24 restaurants, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The chain, which offers a number of seafood dishes, said that two of its restaurants are closed, while the others remain open for takeout and delivery, Restaurant Business reported.
March 13, 2020 — U.S. restaurant chains and other foodservice outlets are struggling to cope with rapidly changing dining habits of Americans fearing exposure to COVID-19.
A new Datassential survey released on 12 March found 89 percent of Americans feel more comfortable eating food from home or grocery stores, while only 11 percent feel comfortable eating food from restaurants or away from home. Fifty-four percent said they would eat at restaurants less frequently due to COVID-19.
March 9, 2020 — In the wake of coronavirus-related cases and mortalities increasing in the United States, Americans are already staying home more and eating out less.
Reports of “panic buying” hand sanitizers, toilet paper, cold and flu medicines, and other products are prolific. Many Americans have shifted to buying non-perishable foods to stock their pantries (such as fruit snacks and oat milk, according to Nielsen) – a move that bodes well for canned and shelf-stable seafood suppliers.