Legal Sea Foods to be sold to PPX Hospitality Brands
Updated Dec 22, 2020;
An iconic Massachusetts chain is being sold this week.
Legal Sea Foods in Boston is set to be sold to another Boston-based company, PPX Hospitality Brands. The deal is expected to go through as early as Monday.
The chain opened 70 years ago as a fish market in Cambridge. It now has more than 25 restaurants along the East Coast.
It sells more than 40 varieties of fresh fish and shellfish throughout the year but is known for its famous New England Clam Chowder, which “has been served at every Presidential Inauguration since 1981,” the company said.
Legal Sea Foods CEO Looks To Plan B After Company s Sale
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Roger Berkowitz on Morning Edition 12-22-20
Legal Sea Foods has become almost as synonymous with New England as the lobsters they serve â so the Massachusetts restaurant chain made headlines this week when it announced its sale to Medford-based PPX Hospitality Group, which also owns Smith & Wollensky and three Strega locations. Legal Sea Foods CEO Roger Berkowitz joined Joe Mathieu on GBH s
Morning Edition to discuss the sale, and how the pandemic has impacted the restaurant industry. You know, life throws curveballs at you. It s really unpredictable, Berkowitz said of the sale, which comes just a year after the restaraunt chain had expanded its high-end seafood offerings. What I ve learned over the years [is] you always have to have I guess a plan B in place, or options in terms of what you do. If you re too myopic, you leave yourself open to things you can t recover from.
Jackie Cain/Eater Boston
Ownership of one of Boston’s most iconic restaurant brands is changing hands. Legal Sea Foods is being sold to the Medford-based PPX Hospitality Group. PPX is a subsidiary of the Irish investment firm Danu Partners, which also owns the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse chain, as well as three Strega locations (Strega Waterfront, Strip by Strega, and Strega Prime).
PPX will become the owners of the rights to the Legal Sea Foods name for restaurants, but Legal chief executive Roger Berkowitz, whose family opened the chain in 1968, will retain the rights to the name for his online business, which sells seafood (fresh and prepared), chowder, tee shirts, cooking equipment, gift cards, and more.
UpdatedMon, Dec 21, 2020 at 8:03 am ET
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Legal Oysteria, which is part of the Legal Sea Foods chain, opened in 2014 with a menu that focused on coastal Italian seafood in the space that was once home to Olives restaurant. (Google Maps)
CHARLESTOWN, MA Legal Oysteria in Charlestown is closed for good.
A call to the City Square restaurant is met with a recorded message. We have ceased operations, and we thank you for your support throughout the years.
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Legal Oysteria, which is part of the Legal Sea Foods chain, opened in 2014 with a menu that focused on coastal Italian seafood in the space that was once home to Olives, as Boston Restaurant Talk first reported.
Boston, Massachusetts-based restaurant chain Legal Sea Foods is being sold to the Massachusetts-based PPX Hospitality Group, a subsidiary of the Irish investment firm Danu Partners.
Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods, announced Tuesday the sale of its 25 plus restaurants to PPX Hospitality Brands, a Boston-based hospitality group.
The sale also includes the purchase of Legal’s Quality Control Center (QCC) located in Boston’s Seaport. The deal will take effect immediately.
PPX now will own and operate all restaurant concepts under the Legal Sea Foods banner, including airport locations.
Berkowitz will retain exclusive ownership rights of the Legal Sea Foods name for his online business, which sells seafood (fresh and prepared), chowder, tee shirts, cooking equipment, gift cards, and more.