One of Connecticut’s most well-known lobster roll spots was surrounded by water for parts of Saturday and Sunday as a nor’easter drenched the shoreline. But Lobster Landing co-owner Rachel David said the building itself stayed mostly dry, and they’ll be back to slinging lobster rolls Monday.
“We didn’t have, in the new building, the iconic Lobster Landing building, any flooding in there,” David told CT Insider in a phone interview Sunday.
David said the restaurant, which sits over the water, is no stranger to flooding — especially in the fall, when tides can be higher. Saturday’s full harvest moon, combined with the nor’easter and the direction of the wind, made the tides especially high over the weekend, David said. The restaurant decided to close Saturday and Sunday because of the floodwaters.
Lobster Landing was rebuilt from the ground up — or, in this case, the water up — in 2024 after a storm lifted it from its pilings. They also raised the building four feet to make it more resilient against future floods and added a ramp to make it more accessible, according to David.
That storm in 2024 was far from the first time the old building had gotten wet, according to David. It took hard hits from hurricanes in 1938 and 1954. But David said the usual high tides that regularly flood the street around the building also took their toll.
“We drilled holes in the floor, actually, to let the water drain out,” she said.
After years of floods and water damage, nearly all they could save when they rebuilt the restaurant two years ago were the sign on the front — with its iconic crooked “o” — the lobster that hung next to it and the weather vane on top.
“All the wood was so water-rotted, we couldn’t save anything,” David said.
One smaller building did get some water in this weekend’s nor’easter, according to David, but it was nothing serious. The new wheelchair ramp also broke off, but David said they were able to fix that Sunday.
“Everything’s cleaned up and the ramp is fixed,” David said. “So we should be good to go.”
The restaurant will open again at its usual time of 11 a.m. Monday, David said. It closes for the season Dec. 31.
Staff Writer Susan Braden contributed reporting to this story.
Dining and Cooking