From Food Truck to Franchise: How These Cousins Turned Their Love of Lobster Into a Business

When cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac were growing up outside of Portland, Maine, family gatherings invariably meant locally caught lobster on the table. Like sweet corn in the Midwest or fresh salmon in the Pacific Northwest, lobster was a regional delicacy they took for granted.

Both cousins eventually moved away: Tselikis, now 30, to the Boston area, where he sold medical devices, and Lomac, 33, to Los Angeles, where he worked in real estate while pursuing an acting career. 

In 2011, Tselikis flew to California for some sunshine and a visit with his cousin. Playing their favorite childhood video game, NHL ’94, they reminisced about all the good meals they’d had as kids, and how difficult it was to find high-quality Maine lobster throughout the U.S. Even in some parts of Maine, Tselikis had discovered, there was a preponderance of cheap, low-quality lobster from other areas. 

Impressed by the burgeoning L.A. food-truck scene, they hit on their