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Linda Bean Working to Expand Maine’s Lobster Industry

NECN News Video

PORT CLYDE, Maine – Ever heard of a lobstickle? It’s a lobster tail on a stick and Linda Bean is hoping it’s going to introduce people around the country to the Maine lobster.

Bean is the granddaughter of L.L.Bean and that family heritage has given her the capital to invest heavily in the lobster industry.

In the past seven years she has purchased wharves, opened a processing plant,
started restaurants and created a frozen food line.

This year, her company expects to buy nearly 10 million pounds of lobster, making her a significant player in Maine’s signature industry.

Bean says her main goal is to keep fishermen working. She currently employs 150 people.

Part of her marketing efforts include trying out innovative products and concepts.

The lobsticle is currently sold at the TD Bank Garden in Boston and you can get one at a Minnesota Twins game.

Next week, Bean will open up a new restaurant concept, an actual lobster boat in the Maine Mall will serve as a kitchen and diners will eat around the “dock.”

The hope is the concept will be a success so it can be duplicated at other malls around the country.