Celebrating 90 Years of Fresh, Maine Lobster

4 Min Read By MRM Staff

Beal’s Lobster Pier is celebrating its 90th anniversary this summer. Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine caught up with co-owner Stuart Snyder to discuss the Southwest Harbor, Maine landmark’s past, present and future. 

What Harvard Beal founded in 1932 as a wholesale fish market evolved into a go-to waterfront dining destination and experience. In 1969, the third generation of the family opened a restaurant: Beal’s Lobster Pier.

In 2014, Snyder and Russ Bernard, purchased Beal’s from Mary Beal, the widow of the third-generation owner Sam Beal. The pair, longtime visitors to Maine and Beal’s customers, not only retained the essence of the restaurant while expanding the menu and service, but they also took the brand nationally. They created “Beal’s at Home,” a direct-to-consumer service, shipping its lobsters via its website and through Goldbelly. 

What is the Beal’s story? Why do you feel it’s survived for so long?Since our first year of operation in…