A Maine seafood restaurant known for getting its lobsters high will close after the 2022 season.
Harbor, Maine’s iconic Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound made headlines in 2018 when news spread that the eatery used cannabis to sedate its lobsters before cooking.
The process involved owner Charlotte Gill’s idea of exposing the lobsters to cannabis smoke before steaming them.
Since 2018, researchers worldwide have referenced Gill’s technique in determining whether invertebrates can feel pain.
In 2021, researchers determined that decapods and cephalopods like lobster, octopus, and crab can feel pain and are sentient organisms.
But a conflict over street parking for Gill’s restaurant has led to her decision to make 2022 Charlotte’s Lobster Pound’s last season of operation.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that 2022, will be our final season for Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound,” wrote Gill in a Facebook post. “We have risen to the challenge of every curveball thrown our way over the past 11 seasons, (including Covid), but this present situation with the removal of all of our roadside parking, is something we will not be able to overcome.”
Gill made the announcement today on the restaurant’s Facebook page following a series of updates on the parking situation earlier this year.
The conflict apparently involved a neighbor’s request to the city to have all street parking for the restaurant halted.
In a Facebook post, Gill noted that the neighbor’s brother is the head selectman for the community and raised ethics concerns.
Addressing worries of potential accidents on the restaurant’s section of Seawall Road, Gill says the building in which the Lobster Pound operates has existed for 67 years without a single incident.
Gill says shutting down will also affect employee livelihood and the community of affordable housing homes that rely on income from the Lobster Pound, which she says is an anchor tenant there despite only being open five months out of the year.
Following Gill’s announcement, many people expressed their surprise, disappointment, and sadness that the restaurant would be closing.
The comment section quickly filled with Lobster Pound fans writing about good Lobster Pound memories, lamenting its demise, and wishing the best for the future.
One person commented that they hoped the business could find a more friendly location to set up operations, which Gill agreed with but wrote that she didn’t think there would be a way to re-create the magic of the current spot.
Gill encouraged everyone to come to Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound and make the best of the restaurant’s final season.
“There is still time to come and make more memories this upcoming season,” says Gill. “And we look forward to seeing you all, with open arms. God bless.”
