Serving Since

Boston Area

Serving since

1925

101 years in Boston

James Hook & Co.

Downtown · Seafood

Go here for
Lobster rolls · Clam chowder
Why go
Order a lobster roll past the live-lobster tanks at a waterfront family lobster business dating from 1925.
Directions Official website

James Hook and his three sons began selling lobster wholesale on the Boston waterfront in 1925. Today the same family business also runs a seafood market and counter-service restaurant at the site.

Why it matters

In 1925 James Hook and his three sons, Edward, James and Alfred, began trucking lobster from Maine and Canada to Boston's fish piers and selling it to the city's lobster restaurants. The business grew at the corner of Atlantic and Northern Avenues, and the family says it is still managed by the Hook family's third generation.

On May 30, 2008 a seven-alarm fire destroyed the building. The Globe reported the business stopped operating for only one day, and by mid-August retail had reopened in a temporary modular building on the original site.

In 2020 the family and SKW Partners filed plans for a hotel tower on the site, with James Hook occupying much of the ground floor. The city's project page still lists it as under review.

The story

  1. 1925James Hook and his three sons start selling lobster on the Boston waterfront2
  2. 2008A seven-alarm fire destroys the building3
  3. 2008Retail reopens in a temporary modular building on the same site4
  4. 2020Hotel tower with ground-floor space for James Hook proposed5
  5. 2025Boston Magazine Best of Boston, lobster roll (casual)8
  6. TodayStill serving Boston

Notes on the record

  • A hotel tower with a new ground-floor home for James Hook was proposed for the site in 2020. The city still lists the project as under review.

Details

Address
440 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02110
Neighborhood
Downtown
Ownership
Family-owned
Status
Open · verified Sep 2026

OldScore

A secondary, editorial measure. The founding year above is the fact that matters most. How it works.

Age28/ 35
Continuity15/ 20
Local significance10/ 20
Local food culture10/ 15
Independence10/ 10
OldScore73/ 100

More like this

Sources

  1. James Hook & Co. (official site) Founding year, Address, What to order, Current status
  2. James Hook & Co., About Us Founding year, History, Ownership
  3. Boston Globe, "7-alarm fire destroys landmark lobster business" (May 31, 2008) Founding year, History, Ownership
  4. Boston Globe Magazine, "Clawing back" (Dec 14, 2008) Founding year, History, Ownership
  5. Boston.com, "Planning progresses for hotel on the site of seafood destination James Hook & Co." (Nov 10, 2020) Founding year, History, Ownership, What to order
  6. Universal Hub, "Plans finally filed for hotel at James Hook site on the waterfront" (Dec 14, 2020) Founding year, History
  7. Boston Planning (BPDA), Hook Wharf/Hotel Harborwalk Expansion History
  8. Boston Magazine, Best of Boston 2025: Best Lobster Roll, Casual (Jun 24, 2025) What to order, Current status