Legal Sea Foods

Legal Sea Foods is a Boston-based seafood restaurant chain primarily located in New England and the Northeast. There are also a few locations around Washington, DC and 3 in South Florida, and a location in Atlanta, GA. It was founded in 1902 by George Berkowitz, who opened a restaurant adjacent to his father Harry's fish market in Cambridge, MA. The menus vary slightly by location and season, but all include a variety of specialty seafood and non-seafood entrees, appetizers, salads, and desserts. Extensive wine lists and full-service bars are also available at all locations to entice a younger, urban clientele in addition to family gatherings. By promoting day boat fishing operations, the company markets itself as having the freshest fish. The company also made industry advances on fish handling and has worked with the federal agencies on developing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). HACCP is an inspection and testing program now being introduced to the general population of seafood dealers for food safety. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDC143DF93AA15752C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all] In the Quest for Safer Seafood, One Company Follows Its Nose (New York Times, Nov 2000)]

Legal Seafoods got its name from the vouchers Harry used to give people at the fish market. He would hand patrons pieces of paper with the inscription "Legal Tender" written on the front. Every time a person came back to the market, or into the restaurant, they were allowed to use this "Legal Tender".

While the company's Quality Control Center have created improvements in testing for tainted fish and seafood, a widely-noted criticism is that all fish and chowder served in any Legal's store must be processed and shipped out through Boston. This can lead to the irony of Long Island Blue Point oysters being shipped from New York to Boston for quality control, then sent back to a New York or New Jersey location for consumption by customers.

Legal Sea Foods currently has 33 locations, in addition to catering and mail order divisions, and has garnered critical accolades for its status as a mid-sized seafood chain. [ [http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2007/04/11/zagat_new_look_a_few_surprises] 2007/2008 Zagat Boston Overview (The Boston Globe, Apr 2007)] Since 1992, George’s son Roger Berkowitz has been at the helm of the company. Legal's New England clam chowder has been both a staple of its menu and, according to the restaurant, a mainstay at every presidential inauguration since 1981. [ [http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/ne_best/A4] New England's Best: Clam Chowder (NBC WHDH Boston, Aug 2003)] The restaurant motto is "If it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal."

During early 2008 it ran a series of humorous radio advertisements, capping with its aforementioned motto. Roger Berkowitz appears in self-mocking roles in the ads.

Management

* President/CEO - Roger Berkowitz
* Executive Chef/VP of Restaurants - Richard Vellante
* VP of Beverage Operations - Sandy Block

See also

*Cuisine of New England

External links

* [http://www.legalseafoods.com/ Company Website]
* [http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/09/11/legal_tests_the_waters_less_surf_more_turf/ Legal's Business Expansion] article in The Boston Globe

References