The Story

The Zanti family, owners of Yankee Lobster Company, have been in the fishing business for many generations. From the little fishing village of Augusta, Italy, Guiseppe Zanti Sr ventured to America in 1898 seeking the fertile fishing grounds that he had heard so much about from brave fishermen that had gone before. He spent several decades fishing from George’s Bank to the Gulf of Alaska. Guiseppe’s stories of fishing intrigued his son, Guiseppe Jr, and in 1921, also ventured to America to make a better future for his family.

Commercial Lobster Co. Circa 1950
Commercial Lobster Co. 295 Commercial Street Boston MA. Circa 1950

Guiseppe Jr. started fishing for lobsters, crabs and fish in the Boston Harbor area throughout the 1920′s and 1930′s. As his sons grew up, the art of fishing was eventually passed on to them as well. By the end of World War II, Guiseppe could see that his family’s future was in the lobster industry. He began to focus his operation exclusively on lobster fishing, while the other fisherman were still seeking crab. With his sons back from military service, Guiseppe invested in several boats and expanded his fishing operations. In 1950, his sons Joseph and Frank saw an op

portunity in the wholesaling of their catch.They convinced their father to open a wholesale-retail operation called “Commercial Lobster” after Guiseppe retired.

In 1989, Joseph Zanti (Frank’s son) and Dennis Kelley (Frank’s son-in-law) took over operations and have been running Commercial Lobster ever since. They continue to provide the finest in fresh seafood from the boat to your kitchen, operating from their state-of-the-art facility on Boston’s new waterfront.