Latest news with #CozyHarborSeafood
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Famed New England seafood supplier that fed America for 45 years filed for bankruptcy
An award-winning food distributor has filed for bankruptcy. Cozy Harbor Seafood, a Maine-based seafood processing company, filed for Chapter 11 as it seeks a sale. The company is well-known for providing marine proteins to major grocery stores around the world, including Wegmans, AEON, Giant, HEB, and Hannaford. But like many food companies, it has racked up debt following 2020 Covid lockdowns. Its sales of lobsters and fish will continue during the bankruptcy period, lawyers for the company confirmed to local NBC affiliate WCSH-TV. 'For more than 45 years, Cozy Harbor Seafood has been a leader in sharing Maine's iconic lobster catch with the world,' John Norton, the company's president and co-founder told the station. 'Despite the many challenges we've faced over the last 45 years, our business is woven into the social, cultural and economic fabric of Maine.' In 2017, the company won the Seafood Excellence Global Award at the Seafood Expo Global. Judges heaped praise on the company's lobster meat, saying the direct-to-retail model kept the proteins fresher than the competition. Cozy Harbor is the latest in a growing list of food suppliers, restaurants, and grocery brands that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year. Earlier this week, Del Monte Foods Inc., the American grocery staple behind some of the most recognizable canned foods, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. For decades, the company has produced canned fruits and vegetables for shoppers. Del Monte, not to be confused with the fresh produce supplier in Europe and the UK, said it will maintain its core businesses after securing a $912.5 million loan. But shifting consumer habits have left the brand struggling to stay relevant, Sarah Foss, the head of legal and restructuring at Debtwire, told 'Del Monte says that consumer demand has declined causing it to incur increased costs related to surplus inventory,' she said. 'Consumer preferences have shifted away from preservative-laden canned food in favor of healthier alternatives.' Food companies across the US - including grocery suppliers and restaurants - have struggled with rising costs, changing consumer sentiment, and a renewed focus on fresh foods Restaurant brands have been under similar pressure. For years, low- and middle-income Americans have tightened their belts while dealing with food inflation. Cutting back on restaurant visits has become a common way for consumers to save money. It's also contributing to an economic slowdown for mid-tier restaurants. And, restaurants have been dealing with inflationary costs on their own offerings. The toxic mix of higher cost and lower traffic has plunged multiple brands. For example On The Border, Hooters, and Red Lobster have all filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, other restaurant staples, like Denny's, Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, and Cracker Barrel have all reported shrinking sales estimates, as they believe shoppers will still cut back in the next quarter.
Miami Herald
03-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Iconic New England seafood brand files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
When you grow up in New England you don't see lobster as quite the luxury the rest of the country does. Lobster isn't exactly free in coastal parts or New England but it's often much cheaper. than anywhere else In Swampscott, Mass where I grew up lobster fisherman left early in the morning from a pier maybe 2 miles from my parents' house. Most of their catch went to local restaurants; but an industrious local could walk up and make a deal for lobsters that were legal to sell but that might not make the cut for restaurants. Related: Iconic pizza chain's franchisees close multiple restaurants Twin lobsters with various fixings for under $30 was common up and down the coast. And during certain parts of the year, when the catch was good, lobster in local grocery stores was often cheaper than chicken or ground beef. Lobster was present at many family barbecues. My uncle even had a lobster boat for a few years (and I always assumed he paid my grandfather back for that purchase in product). Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter When my wife and I had friends to our family home in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, there were many summer months were lobster cost less the $4.99. It wasn't much more near our long-time home in Connecticut, at least during the warmer parts of the year. The past few years, however, have devastated the lobster industry and that has hit one long-time leader in the space very hard. While you can fish for cold water lobsters in other states, Maine is the center of the lobster Universe. It's a state that has embraced the lobster and as you drive up and down the coast you can find it "in the rough," in stews, in bisque, on rolls, and in pretty much everything short of ice cream (although it has probably been tried). Cozy Harbor Seafood has been a big part of that for a long time. The company shared it history on its website: "John Norton and his friend and Cozy Harbor Seafood co-founder Joe Donovan got off the boats and started walking the wharfs by Cozy Harbor Seafood's home in Portland, Maine, asking fishermen for their best catch, which they shipped to wholesalers around the country," it shared. It was a simple model then and a simple one now. "We've grown since then. Our model hasn't. More than 30 years later, Cozy Harbor Seafood still works the wharfs and local markets, asking Maine fishermen 'what did you catch today?' We are now one of the largest Lobster processors in Maine, with locations in Portland, Tenants Harbor, South Bristol and Long Island," it added. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The company, Maine's oldest lobster provider, also understands that its business has gotten more challenging. It has tried to be a responsible player in the field. "As we've grown, we've seen some struggle. Cozy Harbor Seafood was created by lobstermen who get it. As part of our pledge to the industry, we supply our lobstermen with bait and gas and we have four landing stations where fishermen can unload," the company shared. Cozy Harbor Seafood, Inc., and its companies, Art's Lobster Co., Inc. and Casco Bay Lobster, voluntarily filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine on July 2. The company entered this process to continue operating while it restructures its liabilities and pursues a court-supervised sale to a new owner. The seafood giant explained how it got this point in a press release: "The company's decision is best understood in the context of broader market forces that have strained the sector in recent years. Like many businesses, Cozy Harbor Seafood has had to manage many financial challenges in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic. In this environment, even well-established processors have struggled to manage sustained external pressures and market instability," it shared. The actual bankruptcy filing has not been released publicly as of publication of this article. Cozy Harbor plans to keep its processing and packing facilities on St. John Street, at the Portland Fish Exchange and on Union Wharf in Portland, Maine in operation. It will not stop receiving lobster and whitefish deliveries from suppliers, staff will be paid, and orders will be fulfilled. Related: Popular restaurant chain closes all locations, no bankruptcy The company is represented by Bernstein Shur as legal counsel and Corporate Finance Associates as investment banking M&A advisor. "Chapter 11 provides a proven process and legal protection to help Cozy Harbor Seafood efficiently and effectively achieve its long-term financial and operational goals, while providing a level playing field and the opportunity for company value to be maximized in the event of a sale, to the benefit of all creditors," the company explained in the press release. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
