Cousins Maine Lobster

The early days of Cousins Maine Lobster are very similar to those of Apple or Facebook, in that they were founded by men in California. In 2011, as Father Winter deposited snow on Boston, Jim made the trek out to Los Angeles to visit Sabin, for some vitamin D and to reconnect with Sabin. Over an afternoon of playing NHL ‘94, a game they began playing in Maine when it was released and still played on a daily basis in the CML offices 20 years later, the Cousins discussed business opportunities.

They talked childhood, huge pots boiling in the backyard, running around with buttery ears of corn (pronounced “Kahn”) and picnic tables built for 8 seating 10 messy, bibbed kids elbows deep in a steaming hot lobster. They talked about the burgeoning Food Truck industry that was taking over the LA food scene, bringing delicious, unconventional cuisines to the masses cheaply and efficiently. After surveying the landscape, they realized that LA was missing those tasty Maine traditions they fawned over. They decided to pool their savings and launch a food truck that celebrated Maine and served the bounty of their state the only way they knew it: fresh.

the truck launch 2012

The beginning was chaotic and confusing, yet promising and exciting. In 2012 when we opened, we had one truck, a small staff and very little restaurant experience. Thankfully, we had passion and an amazing product. From day one, we experienced lines of 50 to 60 people, which we were grateful for and humbled by.

Our one little truck produced amazing sales during its first few months, providing a real opportunity that we had to acknowledge. With very little means, we built one truck, hired a small staff and created a culture and brand that customers gravitated to. The result was increased demand, more sales and a potential to expand our business. But before we had the chance to scale and put another truck on the road, we appeared on ABC’s hit show, Shark Tank.

shark tank 2016

Shark Tank producers had been part of the many customers that heard about our store, tried our food and seen the craze. Although we did not know it at the time, they had been regular patrons at our truck in the very early weeks. We were asked by the producers to go through the process of being on the show. With less than a month’s worth of sales under our belt, a very youthful company, with no proven sales and a complete unknown of the business, we actually turned down the show… not once, but twice. (We know… crazy.) As we gained a couple months of business, the opportunity to get on Shark Tank never truly disappeared. And with a bit more confidence as time went on and a helpful call from an executive producer, we thought that all of the stars were aligning and finally took the plunge.

California and beyond 2017

After the show we got back to growing and expanding our business. In the next year and a half we added 3 more trucks in Los Angeles, which increased our revenues and of course demanded a more robust infrastructure. Hiring the right team members, implementing the most efficient systems and growing our relationships back home in Maine were all main focal points as we grew our brand in Cali.

We also spent a great deal of time after Shark Tank fine tuning and marketing our Ecommerce business. At the time, that was the “beyond” part. We had our amazing food trucks in Southern California, but we wanted people all over the country to be able to taste our Maine lobster delicacies. With this in mind, we really wanted to promote our shore to door business, which allows customers to order our lobster from our facility in Maine, directly to their home. We ship live lobsters, fresh lobster meat, crab cakes, lobster cakes, steaks and shrimp. We used family recipes to make lobster pot pies and lobster mac and cheese, so that customers throughout the country could taste the Maine lobster dishes we grew up with. This part of the business has been a real passion project, as there is always people wanting lobster, its just been a matter of letting them know we exist. Our intent for our food items has always been to focus on quality and portions, so that customers are happy. After all, it is not a cheap purchase!

now

And now here we are, some four years into our business, and we continue to care as much as we did on day one. We have 20 trucks in 13 cities throughout the country. We are the Franchisor to some amazing, talented and hungry Franchisees, and have the same core of hard working, dedicated and loyal employees in LA. Our company in its entirety support more than 100 employees and we value them all as much as we did when we didn’t know how to butter and grill a roll. It has been a wild ride, growing from one truck four years ago, to experiencing one of the greatest thrills of Shark Tank, and then growing our business with the franchise model. In fact, we are now franchising Brick and Mortars, which will be the next chapter to unfold in our Cousins Maine Lobster playbook.