Eventide Oyster Co.

What Eventide Oyster Co. does

Eventide Oyster Co. is a privately held restaurant company founded in 2012 by chefs Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley and general manager Arlin Smith in Portland, Maine. The company operates two full-service seafood restaurants: the original Eventide Oyster Co. at 86 Middle Street in Portland and Eventide Fenway at 1321 Boylston Street in Boston, opened in 2017 near Fenway Park. Both locations serve a James Beard Award-winning menu centered on a granite-trough raw bar featuring 18+ oyster varieties, innovative accoutrements (kimchi ice, horseradish ice, pickled red onion ice, Tabasco ice), a signature Brown Butter Lobster Roll served on a steamed bao bun, crudo, seasonal clambakes, and Asian- and Mediterranean-influenced New England fare. The restaurants offer dine-in (indoor and outdoor), takeout, and delivery, with online ordering via Toasttab and reservation management through Resy.

Revenue is generated across six primary streams: dine-in restaurant service at both locations, takeout and delivery, nationwide shipping of the Brown Butter Lobster Roll through Goldbelly, a branded e-commerce shop selling apparel, accessories, cookbooks, gift cards, and kitchen items ($22–$225), private dining and catering events (Chef's Tasting Menus from $75/person, room fees of $800–$2,000), and gift card sales. The Boston location adds a 5% admin fee distributed to non-tipped staff. Distribution operates through owned storefronts (two restaurants plus online shop), Goldbelly as a third-party nationwide channel, and Toasttab for direct online ordering. The company is owned by Big Tree Hospitality, which also operates Hugo's and The Honey Paw in Portland and runs Big Tree Foods commissary in Biddeford, Maine; no external private equity or venture capital backing is disclosed.

Name

Eventide Oyster Co.

Legal name

Eventide Oyster Co.

Website

https://eventideoysterco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eventide Oyster Co. operates two James Beard Award-winning seafood restaurants in Portland, Maine and Boston, MA, serving 18+ oyster varieties, signature brown butter lobster rolls, and New England fare, with nationwide Goldbelly shipping, branded merchandise, and private events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Seafood Dining

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Food Services and Drinking Places (722), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)

Keywords

• Oyster bar dining
• New England seafood
• Lobster roll restaurant
• Private event catering
• Branded merchandise shop

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining (Full Service): Revenue from dine-in service at both the Portland, Maine headquarters and Eventide Fenway Boston location. Both locations offer full service indoor and outdoor dining, with menus featuring oysters, crudo, buns and rolls, sandwiches, soups, bowls, and desserts. A 5% Admin Fee is added at the Boston Fenway location, distributed to non-tipped staff as increased wages.
2. Takeout and Delivery: Takeout and delivery orders placed online via Toasttab platform at both locations. Delivery is available through CarHop in Maine.
3. Merchandise and Apparel: Online shop selling branded merchandise including apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers, beanies, aprons), accessories (totes, surf caps), kitchen items (oyster knives), cookbooks, gift cards, and artwork (Oyster Stakes poster). Items range from $22 to $225.
4. Nationwide Shipping (Goldbelly): Partnership with Goldbelly to ship Brown Butter Lobster Rolls directly to customers' doors nationwide.
5. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards available in denominations from $25 to $300. Physical gift cards are issued on Mondays and Thursdays and mailed via USPS (2-7 business days). Digital gift cards available through Toasttab.
6. Private Events and Catering: Private dining room, stand-up cocktail reception, and full restaurant buyout options available at both locations for large groups. Portland offers Chef's Tasting Menu ($75/person minimum), Private Dining Room ($2,000 for 2 hours), and Cocktail Reception. Boston Fenway offers Seated Chef's Tasting Menu ($75/person minimum), Seated/Standing Reception ($800 room fee), Full Restaurant Buyout, and New England Lobster Bake ($80/guest).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Eventide Oyster Co. operates two full-service modern oyster bar restaurants — the original in Portland, Maine and Eventide Fenway in Boston, MA — serving 18+ varieties of oysters and shellfish, signature Brown Butter Lobster Rolls, crudo, clambakes, and seasonal New England fare with Asian and Mediterranean influences. The restaurants offer dine-in, takeout, delivery, and private events, complemented by a nationwide Goldbelly shipping channel for lobster rolls and a branded e-commerce shop selling merchandise, cookbooks, and gift cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Eventide Oyster Co. Portland Restaurant Original full-service modern oyster bar restaurant at 86 Middle Street, Portland, Maine offering dine-in (indoor and outdoor), takeout, delivery, and private events including Chef's Tasting Menu ($75/person), Private Dining Room (up to 17 guests), and Cocktail Reception. Open 7 days a week, 11am-11pm.
• Eventide Fenway Boston Restaurant Full-service modern oyster bar restaurant near Fenway Park at 1321 Boylston Street, Boston, MA offering dine-in (indoor and outdoor), takeout, delivery, brunch on weekends, and private events including New England Lobster Bake ($80/guest), full restaurant buyout (35-75 guests), and seated/standing receptions. Open daily 11am-10pm. Adds a 5% Admin Fee distributed to non-tipped staff.
• Private Events & Catering Private dining, catering, and full restaurant buyout programs at both Portland and Boston locations, including Chef's Tasting Menu ($75/person minimum), seated or standing cocktail receptions, and full restaurant buyouts. Inquiries handled through [email protected].
• Brown Butter Lobster Roll Nationwide Shipping (Goldbelly) Partnership with Goldbelly to ship Eventide's signature Brown Butter Lobster Rolls directly to customers' doors nationwide. Extends the restaurant's geographic reach beyond New England.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards redeemable at Eventide Oyster Co., available in denominations from $25 to $300 in $25 increments. Digital cards via Toasttab; physical cards mailed USPS (2-7 business days, issued Mondays and Thursdays).
• Eventide Cookbook Published cookbook titled 'Eventide: Recipes for Clambakes, Oysters, Lobster Rolls, and More from a Modern Maine Seafood Shack' featuring 120 recipes from the restaurant's James Beard Award-winning team, sold in the online shop for $35.
• Eventide Branded Online Shop (Merchandise & Apparel) Branded e-commerce shop selling apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers, beanies, aprons), accessories (totes, surf caps), kitchen items (oyster knives), the Eventide cookbook, gift cards, and artwork (Oyster Stakes poster). Items range from $22 to $225 with free shipping and no minimum.

Quantifiable outcome

• Named #2 of 21 in Food & Wine's America's Best Oyster Bars list
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GoldbellycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEventide Oyster Co. has partnered with Goldbelly to ship their signature Brown Butter Lobster Rolls directly to customers' doors nationwide. This partnership extends the restaurant's geographic reach beyond New England, enabling food enthusiasts across the United States to experience Eventide's award-winning lobster roll. Goldbelly handles the logistics of nationwide shipping and serves as both a distribution and marketing channel.
• Big Tree HospitalitycoreOthersEventide Oyster Co. is owned and operated by Big Tree Hospitality, the hospitality group also behind Hugo's and The Honey Paw in Portland, Maine. Big Tree Hospitality was founded by chefs Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley along with general manager Arlin Smith, who purchased Hugo's in 2012 and opened Eventide that same year. Big Tree also operates Big Tree Foods, a commissary in Biddeford, Maine.
• Toadfish (Put 'Em Back Oyster Knives)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerEventide sells a co-branded 'EVENTIDE LOGO PUT 'EM BACK OYSTER KNIFE' in their online shop. The knife is developed by Toadfish and features both the Eventide logo and Toadfish logo. The knife combines elements of a traditional oyster shucker with modern ergonomics and is described as 'the most thought out oyster shuckers ever created.'
• Sea BagsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerEventide offers an exclusive 'Sailcloth Tote by Sea Bags' in their online shop. The tote bags are handmade from recycled sails in Portland, Maine, featuring a custom-printed oyster illustration. Each bag is one-of-a-kind and exclusive to Eventide — not available elsewhere.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Row 34: Boston seafood restaurant and oyster bar by the Island Creek Hospitality group. Closely comparable to Eventide in segment (oyster bar), menu philosophy, and pricing tier with overlapping Boston seafood enthusiast customer base.
• B&G Oysters: Boston South End oyster bar by chef Barbara Lynch. Comparable as a chef-driven oyster and raw bar concept in the Boston market, competing for the same upscale seafood diner.
• Hugo's: Original Big Tree Hospitality restaurant in Portland, Maine, purchased by the same founders in 2012. Comparable Portland-based chef-driven dining concept sharing ownership, kitchen, and back-of-house resources with Eventide.
• Saltie Girl: Boston seafood bar focused on oysters, tinned seafood, and curated shellfish. Comparable as a Boston-based oyster-and-seafood destination with a similar dive-into-finer-things positioning.
• Island Creek Oyster Bar: Boston oyster bar by Island Creek Oysters founder Skip Bennett. Direct competitor in the New England oyster bar category with a similar raw-bar-forward, New England-focused menu and chef-driven positioning.
• Neptune Oyster: Boston North End oyster bar and seafood restaurant widely cited alongside Eventide as one of New England's premier oyster destinations. Comparable menu structure centered on raw bar, lobster rolls, and chef-driven shellfish preparations.
• The Honey Paw: Sister restaurant under Big Tree Hospitality in Portland, operated by the same chef-owners (Taylor, Wiley, Smith). Comparable chef-driven New England concept, sharing inventory, sourcing relationships, and parent oversight.

Broad incumbents

• Legal Sea Foods: Long-established New England seafood chain with broad retail and restaurant footprint. Overlaps with Eventide on seafood menu and New England brand association, but at a much larger scale and a more casual, broad-market positioning.

Emerging players

• Pearl District Oyster Bar: Oyster bar concept in the Portland, Oregon market that adapts the East Coast oyster bar format for a new city. Comparable as a chef-driven oyster bar expanding the 'modern oyster bar' format into a new metro, similar to Eventide's Boston expansion.

Regional players

• Fore Street: Portland, Maine farm-to-table restaurant by chef Sam Hayward. Comparable as a Portland-based chef-driven establishment with strong national press credibility and a similar ingredient-forward approach to New England cuisine.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eventide-oyster-co.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eventide Oyster Co.