Wicked Maine Lobster is working on opening three new Los Angeles area locations. Co-Owner Eric Howard said during a phone interview with What Now Los Angeles on Friday that they signed the leases more than a year ago and were planning to open the stores in 2021, but all three have been stalled due to COVID-19.
The triple Wicked Maine locations are slated for: Citizen Public Market, at 9355 Culver Blvd., in Culver City; Westfield Topanga & The Village shopping mall, at 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., in Canoga Park; and Edin Park, at 8001 Beverly Blvd., in Los Angeles.
“We’re just as interested in getting them open as everyone else,” Howard said.
COVID has set everything back likely for a year or two, he said, emphasizing that there is no opening timeline at this point.
Outside of LA, other locations are moving forward, including one by summer in the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki, Hawaii, one in National City by the end of the year, and one under the iconic Pacific Beach Shore Club in San Diego.
Wicked Maine Lobster was created by Howard and his brother, Alex, in 2014. Alex Howard backpacked up and down the coast of California before settling in San Diego.
“After realizing there wasn’t a huge selection of east coast seafood in San Diego, Alex came up with the idea to sell Maine Lobster Rolls and New England Clam Chowder at local Farmers Markets,” the WML website reads.
Later that year he was invited to the Oceanbeach farmers market. He brought on his brother, Eric Howard, to help him start and run the business for the remainder of the year.
The two Maine natives are determined to bring “the absolute best Maine seafood dishes to southern California,” the WML website reads.
They currently have three locations in the San Diego area.
