Two locations of well-known fish restaurant chain Legal Sea Foods are reopening for takeout about three months after in-restaurant dining was shut down in Massachusetts as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Legal Harborside in Boston's Seaport will start serving takeout June 18, while the Chestnut Hill location of Legal Sea Foods will begin a week later, the company said. Additionally, the restaurant in Boston will serve food on its patio starting June 20, with outdoor dining planned at the Chestnut Hill location soon as well.
When the pandemic hit, Legal Sea Foods' more than 30 restaurants completely closed, without offering takeout or delivery, a decision that President and CEO Roger Berkowitz spoke to NBC10 Boston about in our new podcast, "The Dish I Miss." He said the company didn't think takeout was viable off the bat and needed to figure out how to safely social distance in kitchens.
"We're in the fish business and people are going to eat fish and we just have to figure out what's the best avenue for them to have delicious New England or other seafood products that we offer."
Click the subscribe link above to find the episode on your favorite podcasting platform, like Apple or Spotify.
Now, Legal Sea Foods plans to open more restaurants as the summer continues, but hasn't provided concrete dates for the other locations. The takeout menu for the opening is smaller than the usual fare, with just four mains, two soups and two appetizers.
But the chain is shipping its food nationwide through its Online Fish Market as well.
That brings the restaurant back to its roots -- it began as Legal Sea Foods fish market in Cambridge's Inman Square, something Berkowtiz reminisced about in our interview.
Listen to our free podcast, "The Dish I Miss," where Boston chefs explain what they miss cooking diners during the coronavirus crisis. It's on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
