NAHANT — There’s something fishy happening on Nahant Road.
Nahant Fish & Lobster celebrated its grand opening Friday. The new seafood store sells fresh fish and lobsters caught by Nahant fishermen.
Another seafood store with the same name thrived on the Nahant Road location for more than 30 years before it closed five years ago. Since then, the space has been vacant.
Today, it boasts a bright red, green, and blue color scheme inspired by a photograph the owner took of wooden boats in the Carribbean sea.
“People wanted this so bad,” said owner Laurie Nash, who leases the space from the Stephen D. Viviano Realty Trust who purchased the mixed-use building in 2016 for $500,000. “We just decided to do it because we’re a part of this town. There’s no other place like this in Nahant.”
Her resume’s highlights include being a chef for 35 years. She owned and operated Salvo’s, a restaurant on Beacon Hill in the 1980s and 1990s. She’s worked at Sheraton Ferncroft and as a personal chef for a Beverly Farms family.
In addition to the raw seafood sold at the shop, Nash offers homemade clam chowder for $10 and fresh lobster rolls on a buttered bun for $18.
In the store’s first two days, more than 120 lobster rolls and 100 cups of clam chowder were sold, she said. Another popular item, she noticed, is a sushi creped tuna burger crusted in panko, Japanese-style breadcrumbs, and black sesame.
Tony Barletta, town administrator, said the addition of a business is great for Nahant. A hair salon and a massage parlor are also expected to open this month. He said a seaside town must have a fish store.
“Lobsters being caught off Nahant this morning will be in a lobster roll this afternoon,” he said.
