Boothbay Lobster Company Opening in Stamford's Harbor Point: Wicked Fresh Maine Seafood

Lou Gorfain

It’s official.  The Boothbay Lobster Company will be opening its first restaurant in early 2016 at Harbor Point in Stamford. In fact, owner David Galin had just finished hanging up the announcement sign in the window of the new location, when we asked about his plans.

Since Boothbay is Lobster Haven in Maine, our first question had to be, “Connecticut Lobster Roll or New England Lobster Roll?”  

 “Both,” Galin said, grinning.  “And either way, we’ll serve tail, knuckle and claw meat in a really good bun.”

The restaurant concept is so fresh that Galin and his somewhat silent business partner are still refining the details, but “fresh” is the operant theme:  seafood plucked directly from the cold waters of Maine immediately trucked to Harbor Point.

When the concept is further embellished, Galin promised to give CTBites readers a very early preview.  

This we can leak.  While not recreating the Lobster Pound experience, Boothbay will mirror the ambience, fare, and friendliness found in authentic Down East seafood dining.  In fact, Galin imagines live streaming video of the docks at Boothbay playing across a big screen on one wall of the restaurant. 

At age 56, the Boothbay Lobster Company relieves a bit of a Midlife itch for Galin.   Though the New York native worked in restaurants during college (Colgate) and while living in the San Francisco area,  David had to leave one love (food)  for another (education.)  Moving to Maine 20 years ago, he eventually served as chief Academic officer for the Portland School System. So instead of a Corvette for his birthday, David got himself a new seafood restaurant.   But hardly on a whim.  

After extensive demographic and marketing surveys, the partners selected Harbor Point as the ideal location because research revealed Stamford is hungry for seafood but underserved.

Boothbay Lobster Company becomes the 15th resto at Harbor Point, a mere three years after our first story on the burgeoning food scene there   http://www.ctbites.com/home/2012/8/28/stamfords-new-boom-town-a-peek-harbor-points-food-future.html

“It culminates a long search to attract the ‘best in class’ cuisine and nightlife to Harbor Point,” according to Jon Sabrowski, the leasing director at Building and Land Technology.   He envisions Boothbay Lobster Company becoming “the Shake Shack of Seafood.”

That would be wicked good.