At the end of Commerce Street and along the Clinton Harbor is an eatery that’s as well known for its hot buttered lobster rolls as its weathered grey shack. Lobster Landing, which announced it will be opening for the 2025 season on Thursday, April 24, has stood in the same spot for nearly 30 years, serving up its signature rolls, lobster bisque, hot dogs, sausage and peppers and onions.
In September 2024, the owners announced that they’d be closing early to prepare for a significant renovation to the widely photographed shack.
“I've known for probably the last five or six years at least,” John Andrews said, whose family has owned the property for decades, about needing the renovation. It took Andrews and his team, including permitting agent John Lust, three years to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, and the Town of Clinton to receive all of the proper permits for the renovation, a challenging feat since the area is on the National Register of Historic Places. “Most of the building had to be rebuilt because it was rotted and waterlogged,” Andrews said.
Andrews said that trying to maintain the look of the lobster shack was “the most important thing.”
To do that, he referenced old photographs and postcards that showed several different buildings there, dating back to the pre-1900s. “Various forms of that building have served as an oyster/lobster/fish shack,” said Andrews.
Two hurricanes—one in 1938 and one in 1954–wrecked the former seaside shacks that were in the same spot that Lobster Landing stands today. “I found a postcard from right before the 1954 hurricane so I was able to kind of model (the new building) after that. I put the brick chimney back on, trying to get it back to its original pre-1954 hurricane,” Andrews said. The owners also preserved the namesake wooden sign, the weathervane and the red lobster that was affixed to the front of the old building.
The goal of the renovation was not only to bring everything up to code, including adding an exterior wheelchair ramp, but to create a building that could weather rising tides in future years. That included making the entire building about four feet higher than the previous one and adding cedar siding.
“I expect it to hopefully be there for our grandkids to enjoy someday. Maybe their grandkids,” Andrews said.
The new lobster shack features new stainless steel countertops, new windows and improved lighting to aid food preparation. It will continue to operate as a kitchen and retail space. Inside, the staff will use the space to steam, crack, cut and weigh all of the lobster meat for the rolls. There, customers can also purchase live steamers, clams, mussels, oysters and lobsters that they can take home to cook.
“It was definitely deteriorating, and especially within the last couple years, it was getting pretty bad,” added Lobster Landing co-owner Angela Morander. “We're just excited to have a brand new area to work in.”
The team said they’re excited to be back after an extended closure in 2024.
“Because we did close early last year, it did disappoint a lot of people. I apologize that we had to close early, but just know that it was for a good reason, and that we'll be back better than ever in the new building,” said Morander.