American seafood is experiencing rapid growth. According to the Department of Agriculture, the United States’ per capita consumption of seafood has ballooned by more than 30% since the early 2000s. While much of this seafood is being eaten at home, growing demand can also be seen in many of the nation’s rapidly growing seafood restaurant chains. Several of these chains have found success by basing their menus around specific dishes including seafood boils, fish and chips, and poke bowls. Others have gone a different route, marketing themselves as a spot for affordable seafood meals.
Regardless of which route a brand takes, launching, managing, and expanding a successful seafood chain is no mean feat. Seafood supply chains are notoriously tricky to navigate, with prices and product quality often fluctuating. What’s more, seafood is generally unforgiving in the kitchen, meaning that cooking it quickly and on a large scale is an incredibly daunting task. Despite this, there are several American seafood chains that are performing exceptionally well at the moment. While their approaches to seafood and dining vary, each of these 12 chains has carved an ever-expanding niche for itself and looks set to dominate a sizable chunk of the country’s seafood restaurant market for years to come.
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The Wee Chippy
The Wee Chippy was launched by Glaswegian Joe Gorrie in Venice Beach, California in 2013. Originally serving just fries, Gorrie added fish to the menu in 2015. The company started franchising in 2023 and Gorrie and his company have not looked back since, signing a 30 unit development deal with The Tastebuds Group in the summer of 2023 with sites slated to open in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and Tennessee.
Such rapid growth has been possible thanks to the chain’s relatively low start-up costs. New locations can be as small as 150 square feet. What’s more, each location only needs two fryers, a freezer, and a fridge to store and prepare all menu items. Low costs are one of the key aspects attracting prospective franchise owners to The Wee Chippy. The company estimates the minimum estimated cost of opening a Wee Chippy — including the franchise fee — to be $132,000. This is significantly less than other franchising opportunities, with McDonald’s franchisees paying at least $1.3 million to open a restaurant.
The Wee Chippy is also expanding on such a large scale because there is a distinct lack of competition. As Gorrie told SeafoodSource, “We are filling an opening in the market. Fish and chips is a universally loved dish, yet in the U.S., there is no known successful fish-and-chips brand.”
Captain D’s
Captain D’s is known to serve a huge variety of fried seafood at affordable prices. Evidence suggests that this is a winning concept; Captain D’s has grown considerably in recent times, adding seven new restaurants during the beginning of 2023 and signing a franchise development agreement for 26 new restaurants with Amazing Food Concepts in May 2024.
In an interview with SeafoodSource, Captain D’s chief development officer Brad Reed explained why the chain is attracting so many potential franchise owners at the moment, saying, “Captain D’s spent the last several years developing restaurant footprints that are well-suited to the increasingly competitive real estate market, and we now have an effective mix of small, medium and no dining room options to provide our franchisees with flexibility and substantial cost savings.” These footprints include drive-thru and pick up only restaurants known as Captain D’s Express, which have helped the brand reach new markets at a much lower start-up cost.
Standing at more than 540 units in February 2023, Captain D’s is pushing to hit a grand total of 1,000 units. In order to reach this goal, the company plans to open at least 25 restaurants annually in just about every state, especially those in the West, holding potential for future growth.
Koibito Poke
As the name suggests, Koibito Poke is a chain that specializes in poke bowls, a dish that’s traditionally made with raw fish and rice. The chain was founded by former MLB baseball player Todd Stottlemyre in 2018. Just five years later, Koibito Poke was named one of the country’s top new and emerging franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine. That same year, Koibito Poke announced the opening of a Charlotte-based restaurant that would act as a training base and springboard for the company’s planned expansion along the Eastern seaboard.
At the time of writing, Koibito Poke boasts 11 restaurants. As with many of the other chains mentioned in this article, a great deal of this growth has come via franchising. The company attracts potential franchise owners by offering very low investment costs. According to the chain’s website, the entire investment typically comes in below $400,000 making it a great option for those franchisers who do not have access to millions of dollars but still want to get in on the restaurant game.
We should prepare to see a lot more Koibito Poke franchises in the future; in 2022, the chain agreed to a sales pact for 300 units with True Capital Partners. Now, it’s just a matter of getting these new restaurants up and running.
Cousins Maine Lobster
Cousins Maine Lobster was founded in 2012, when Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis bought a food truck and started selling fresh lobster rolls together. The cousins soon appeared on the ABC show “Shark Tank” where Barbara Corcoran invested $55,000 for a 15% stake in the business. This money fueled Cousins Maine Lobster’s early growth, and the company has since gone from strength to strength.
The company has particularly focused on growing a fleet of food trucks. Between January and June 2024 alone, it welcomed 10 new trucks to its fleet. These vehicles are working in various markets including New York, South Florida, and Rhode Island. Cousins Maine Lobster isn’t finished for the year either; the company plans to launch a further 10 units — for a total of 20 in the year — before the end of 2024.
Cousins Maine Lobster is also known as a chain that uses very high quality seafood. This is a big part of its popularity, but the main reason behind the chain’s sustained, impressive growth might be how frequently it’s featured in the media. Segments on shows like “The Today Show” and “Good Morning America” as well as Lomac and Tselikis’ own Food Network special “Food Truck Rehab” have raised awareness of the chain and vastly increased its consumer base.
Shuckin’ Shack
Shuckin’ Shack started life in 2007 in Carolina Beach, NC. It opened its second location in 2012 and started considering franchising in 2014. Since this time, Shuckin’ Shack has grown into a budding seafood chain. As of July 2024, Shuckin’ Shack boasted 18 restaurants and was looking to open its nineteenth in Burlington, North Carolina. A further five restaurants, located in Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are also slated to open soon.
This growth comes off the back of solid sales. Restaurant Business Online reported that 2022 overall sales were up 18.7% when compared to the previous year. Same store sales also climbed by an impressive 7%. If strong sales weren’t alluring enough, Shuckin’ Shack also offers its franchisees training, relatively low initial investment requirements, and even helps with site selection. This latter point is of significant importance; the chain has found great success in secondary markets and residential suburbs and does not often seek high rent locations in city centers. As the numbers attest, this approach is working well for Shuckin’ Shack.
Luke’s Lobster
Luke Holden, co-founder of Luke’s Lobster, left a job on Wall Street and opened the company’s first shack in New York City’s East Village. Luke’s Lobster has grown at an impressive rate over the years. By 2018, it boasted 28 locations globally as well as over $30 million in sales. During 2023, the chain opened three more restaurants located in Seattle, New York, and Newport and, at the time of writing, the company has 25 locations open in North America alone, the majority on the East coast.
This growth has been, in part, fueled by investors such as Quilvest Capital Partners and Almanac Insights. Aside from injecting cash into Luke’s Lobsters, these investors are also aligned with the chain’s sustainable ethos and have supported the company as it developed a transparent food chain, switched to only using renewable energy, and improved production efficiencies.
By consistently placing sustainability front and center, the team behind Luke’s Lobster have not only created a company to be proud of, but one that looks well-suited to grow in the coming years, especially as the nation’s consumer base becomes increasingly environmentally-minded. Add to this the company’s forays into e-commerce and its successful line of grocery store products and it’s hard to envisage a future where Luke’s Lobster doesn’t thrive.
Angry Crab Shack
Founded in 2013 by ex-NFL lineman Ron Lou, Angry Crab Shack has since grown into one of the premier seafood boil restaurant chains in the United States. In just 10 short years, 18 Angry Crab Shack locations have opened across four states, the vast majority of which are franchised. In fact, at the time of writing, only five Angry Crab Shack restaurants are owned by the company.
Angry Crab Shack prefers to franchise as it is a quick, simple, and affordable way to expand. Another ex-NFL player, Lincoln Kennedy, is one of the beneficiaries of this. He owns several Angry Crab Shack franchises and has celebrated how supportive the company is during the setup process, as well as praising the help they give with marketing. What’s more, Kennedy believes that Angry Crab Shack’s concept is a proven one that will draw in customers for years to come.
Impressing experienced franchise owners like Kennedy is essential for Angry Crab Shack’s success. This is especially true given the level of growth the company is looking for. As president of Angry Crab Shack Andy Diamond told FranchiseWire in early 2024, “Restaurants will open in Arizona and Georgia over the next few months with a goal of having 100 locations open and operating by 2030.” With the likes of Kennedy behind them, we wouldn’t put it past Angry Crab Shack to achieve this unit total and then some.
Island Fin Poké
Island Fin Poké is another seafood chain growing at breakneck speed. After being founded in 2016, the chain opened its first franchised location in 2019. By November 2023, the company had 26 units in operation, 10 of which opened during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The chain’s reputation was further enhanced by being named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2022 top food franchises and featuring on Fast Casual’s 2022 movers and shakers list.
A lot of the chain’s growth is down to its unique approach to casual service. Not only are the ingredients top quality, the service is levels above what customers expect. As founder Mark Setterington highlighted to 1851 Franchise, “We have incredible food, remarkable service and we use only the best ingredients — the fish that we use, the sauces that we make in-house. The way that we serve guests — we take their trash, run the food to the table, and make sure they have a great experience.”
Island Fin Poké is looking to supercharge its growth after partnering with GNF Worldwide in the early weeks of 2024. Not only will this partnership help Island Fin Poké deliver on its 50 sold but not yet operational units, it will also push the chain into new markets, potentially on a global scale.
California Fish Grill
Founded in 1998, California Fish Grill has gained a reputation for serving affordable, sustainable seafood. All its menu options are either certified by a third party or boast a best choice or good alternative rating from the Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood watch program. Despite this unique selling point, the chain’s growth was initially slow. In 2014, 16 years after it was founded, California Fish Grill only boasted eight units. But this slow growth rate was transformed when chief executive Bob Holden joined the company in 2014.
Since Holden’s tenure started, California Fish Grill has expanded rapidly. Five years after he assumed the role, the chain had opened 21 new stores. Building on this success, a further 26 were opened between 2020 and 2024. These openings have been concentrated in the west, particularly in California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Over 2024 and beyond, the chain is intent on extending its reach, opening 11 further units and reviewing development opportunities in East Coast locations including Washington D.C.
The company most definitely isn’t neglecting its Western roots. On the contrary, the chain has been consistently opening new units in its home state. To make matters even more impressive, every single California Fish Grill is company-owned, proving that franchising is not the only way for seafood chains to rapidly expand.
Topsail Steamer
Topsail Steamer is a unique seafood chain, in that it does not allow customers to dine in. Instead, the chain serves premade seafood steam pots for customers to cook and enjoy at home. Thanks to the simple nature and low operating costs of this model, Topsail Steamer has grown rapidly since it was founded, with nine units currently open. This number looks set to balloon as founder Danielle Mahon has gone into partnership with Elite Franchise Capital to open at least 40 new units in locations across the United States.
So solid is the chain’s concept that established restaurateurs have contacted Mahon, requesting the opportunity to open franchised restaurants. One such request has led to the construction of Topsail Steamer’s first non-beach location, a unit set to open in Charlotte during the summer of 2024. Further requests are bound to come, especially as Topsail Steamer was recently named in Oprah Winfrey’s The O List: Summer Fun.
Mahon has been aided in the company’s development by franchising law firm Spadea Lignana. Speaking to the firm, Mahon said, “The firm’s proactive approach, from legal assistance to strategic advice, has been a game-changer for us. There is a lot of learning that goes into franchising, so it is really important to have a good, experienced partner alongside you for the journey.”
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls has opened locations across the nation and is currently made up of 38 units. The majority of these are based on the United States’ East Coast with a particularly strong presence in Florida. Americans’ love for lobster rolls spans far beyond the confines of New England, apparently.
38 units is very impressive for a chain that’s only been open 10 years, but founder Dan Beck is still actively seeking greater growth. In an interview with Restaurant Business, Beck outlined the chain’s plan, saying, “Right now, with the infrastructure we have, we can open about 10 to 12 stores a year. We’re probably looking to get up to 50 stores [total] and then we might look for some injection of capital and really accelerate our growth.”
As with many other chains mentioned in this article, franchising has been at the center of Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls’ growth. The chain started franchising in 2016, two years after it was founded. Aside from the evident success these restaurants enjoy, prospective franchisers are also attracted to the low start-up costs, which are roughly half the industry average, and the fact that no prior restaurant experience is required. For these reasons, we expect many more franchised Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls to pop up all over the country.
Eddie V’s Prime Seafood
Named one of the United States’ best seafood restaurant chains, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood is an excellent establishment that is just as known for steak as it is for lobster, oysters, and tuna. This isn’t the only thing that sets the chain apart. Unlike most other seafood chains mentioned in this article, Eddie V’s has prioritized slow growth to ensure its standards do not slip. This approach has paid off: Eddie V’s has enjoyed considerable sales growth over the years and is often ranked as one of the best performing restaurant chains in the United States when it comes to sales per unit.
There are currently 30 Eddie V’s Prime Seafood restaurants in the U.S. and a new location is set to open in Oak Brook, Illinois during fall of 2024. The chain could undoubtedly expand on a larger scale. It is, after all, owned by Darden Restaurants, a company with enormous resources at its disposal. However, even with this relatively modest number, the chain’s impact on the U.S. seafood restaurant scene is undeniable; it has raised the standard and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Read the original article on The Daily Meal.