Legal Seafood Original Location

“Our roots go back to 1950 when my father George opened a fish market in Cambridge, MA. It was known around the world for selling only the absolute best seafood from the “top of the catch”. Since then, my family has maintained the same commitment to excellence and freshness. A lot has changed since those beginnings, but our high standards certainly haven`t changed. Now we honor our heritage by providing legal seafood for you at home. Roger Berkowitz, son of George Berkowitz and grandson of Harry Berkowitz, at Original Legal Sea Foods in Inman Square “Usually, people think frozen food is kind of leftovers that go wrong,” he said. It`s actually less waste and something people can have at will. Given that the majority of high-quality seafood has always been consumed in restaurants and that this type of channel is currently under attack nationally, I think there are opportunities for us to take advantage of the restaurant experience and make it more accessible to people. There was probably no better opportunity in all of humanity to introduce this. In March 1994, Food Arts Magazine presented the Silver Spoon Award to George and Roger Berkowitz for excellence and American seafood awareness for 30 years.

[23] That same year, Legal Sea Foods also opened its first airport restaurant in Terminal C of Logan International Airport, followed by a location at Philadelphia International Airport. Also in 1994, Legal Sea Foods invited influential chefs from China to incorporate Asian cuisine into the restaurant`s menu. This program was called “Cuisineast” and some dishes created for this event are still on the menu. [24] Harry Berkowitz, father of Legal Sea Foods founder George Berkowitz, opened the Legal Cash Market in Inman Square, Cambridge in 1904. Legal Cash Market clients received “legal stamps,” a predecessor to S&H Green Stamps, with every purchase on the market. In 1950, Harry`s son, George Berkowitz, opened a fish market next to his father`s business, named it Legal Sea Foods, and tried to bring the freshest fish to the city of Cambridge and the greater Boston area. Legal Sea Foods in Inman Square was a restaurant loved by its community. Legal Sea Foods was considered “the kind of place to show the `real Cambridge` out of the ordinary”. The most remarkable part of the house was its cultivation. The lower floor was a fish market full of fresh fish in glass display cases and lobster living in tanks.

The market floor was covered in sawdust and usually full of customers waiting to buy the best seafood in town. Upstairs, guests sat at picnic tables and read menus glued to the walls. Every meal, whether boiled or fried fish, was served on paper plates and guests often asked their neighbors if they could try a bite of their food, even if they didn`t know each other. PPX Hospitality Brands is a relative newcomer. In 2016, Irish investment firm Danu Partners acquired steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky. Danu`s portfolio expanded in January 2020 when it acquired three Strega restaurants and related businesses – including Strega Waterfront, Strega Prime, Strip by Strega, several Caffé Strega properties and a restaurant company – from restaurateur Nick Varano`s Varano Group. Danu founded PPX Hospitality Brands to oversee its U.S. operations. In 2005, a new type of restaurant, Legal Test Kitchen (LTK), was introduced, with a menu consisting of 50-60% seafood and comparatively lower prices than traditional Legal Sea Foods restaurants. [33] Also in 2005, Legal Sea Foods began offering gluten-free menu options for the first time, offering more dining options to guests with celiac disease. [34] On that day in 1980, a fire destroyed Legal Sea Foods` original fish market and restaurant in Cambridge.

The restaurant reopened, but the business quickly expanded outside the neighborhood. Today, there are 30 Family Legal Sea Foods restaurants. All of them have the same inappropriate name, which goes back to the company`s roots. In 1904, Harry Berkowitz named his store Inman Square Legal Cash Market because his customers could exchange government-issued legal stamps there. When his son turned to fish, he kept the name “legal”. Now, his grandson runs the business from a 75,000-square-foot headquarters overlooking Boston Harbor. On the roof is a 45-foot-long stainless steel sculpture of a New England cod. In 2014, Legal Sea Foods began running print and TV ads claiming that its seafood restaurants should never be called a chain. The series of commercials uses restaurant manager Roger Berkowitz to explain why. [3] In honor of Classics Week, here`s a look back at a 1987 menu for the Park Plaza location: In 1975, the restaurant expanded with the opening of a more traditional outlet on the site of the former S.S. Pierce Building in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

[15] The original restaurant in Inman Square was destroyed in a fire on January 18, 1980. With the help of his two sons, Marc and Roger, George opened his flagship at Boston Park Plaza in the Boston Theater District in downtown Boston that year.[16] And quality – so much so that we have a state-of-the-art food safety laboratory where we test all seafood before being consumed by customers/consumers. Menus vary by location, season, and concept, but they all include a wide variety of seafood appetizers, appetizers, salads, and desserts. More than 40 varieties of fresh fish and shellfish, prepared according to New England tradition, are available throughout the year. Some of the most popular products are: lobster, clam chowder, fried clams, crab cake, shrimp cocktail, tuna burgers, baked scrod, surf and grass and grilled fish fillets. Extensive wine lists and full-service bars are also available at all locations and have been recognized for their philosophy of providing value across all price ranges. The restaurant offers separate menus for lunch and dinner, as well as gluten-free and children`s menus. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Legal Sea Foods had 33 locations, 3,500 employees and annual sales of more than $200 million.

[2] As of March 2020, Legal Sea Foods had closed all indoor restaurants. Over the summer, the restaurant chain began gradually reopening 18 of the largest locations in the greater Boston area. In August 2020, $10 million of the federal government`s paycheck protection program expired and the company began considering mergers with other restaurant operators. In December, the group merged with PPX Hospitality Brands, a subsidiary of Danu Partners. Under the terms of the sale, Roger Berkowitz retained control of online and retail sales as Legal Sea Foods, and PPX became the new owner of the restaurant network and quality control center in South Boston. [46] [47] The “Welcome to Legal” campaign was launched in 2019 with ads alluding to the legality of marijuana in Massachusetts. The campaign received national attention, with comments from posts such as AdWeek and AdAge. [69] [75] Today, 237 Hampshire Street in Inman Square is occupied by Rosie`s Bakery, not to mention what was there before.8 While George Berkowitz`s son (and current owner of Legal Sea Foods), Roger Berkowitz, said at the time of the 1980 fire that they would consider rebuilding “if we can sit down with the insurance people and come to some sort of agreement. It`s really part of our family heritage. We would like to go back to Cambridge. If it is feasible, we will do it”,2 they have never rebuilt in their original location. The location of Charles Square in Cambridge, located near Inman Square, is inspired by the original location, but a sawdust-covered fish market with picnic tables—and menus glued to the wall—no longer exists since the 1980 fire.8 Legal Sea Foods is an American restaurant chain[5] of casual seafood restaurants located primarily in the northeastern United States.