DJ’s Clam Shack

What DJ’s Clam Shack does

DJ's Clam Shack is a quick-service seafood restaurant chain that operates six fixed locations and a food truck, serving casual-dining customers across beach-tourism and Long Island suburban trade areas. The company was founded in late 2009 in Key West, Florida, by Jeff Bell and Doug Bell — partners whose respective roots in Ipswich, Massachusetts and Blue Point, New York informed the chain's positioning as a hybrid of New England and Southern seafood traditions. Its menu centers on shellfish preparations such as clams, lobster rolls, and shrimp served in a signature "cone" format that functions as both packaging and a visual signature; ancillary offerings include fries, soups, and related seafood sandwiches. Locations are concentrated in Key West FL, Indian Shores FL, St. Augustine FL, and on Long Island in Huntington, Stony Brook, Wantagh, and East Northport, NY, with an additional Stony Brook-based food truck extending mobile/event reach.

The business model combines direct-operated restaurant sales with two newer revenue streams: a formal catering service for off-premises events and a franchise program that sells exclusive territories sized to local populations of 50,000–100,000. Pricing is positioned as quick-service/casual, and the company generates revenue primarily through in-store transactions, supplemented by catering contracts and prospective franchise fees and royalties as the franchise system matures. Distribution is omnichannel in a limited sense — in-store dining, takeaway, the Stony Brook food truck, and catering — but the model is fundamentally a fixed-store, walk-in consumer business rather than a digitally native or delivery-first operation. The chain has earned third-party brand validation through a featured appearance on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

The company is privately held and shows no disclosed outside investment, M&A activity, or institutional backers in the source material. Headcount, system-wide revenue, and franchisee count are not disclosed, which limits financial visibility. Strategic posture in the most recent reporting period is centered on capital-light growth: opening incremental corporate units, formalizing catering, and seeding a franchise system designed to extend the brand into new geographies without proportional operator capital.

Name

DJ’s Clam Shack

Legal name

DJ's Clam Shack

Website

https://djsclamshack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DJ's Clam Shack operates a six-store quick-service seafood restaurant chain across Florida and Long Island, NY, plus a Stony Brook food truck, serving casual-dining customers with a New England/Southern seafood hybrid menu and expanding via catering and franchising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick-Service Seafood Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Mobile Food Services (72233), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Fast Casual (THAFABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Truck & Mobile Catering Coordination (HSACAGAG)

Keywords

• Quick-service seafood restaurants
• Seafood restaurant chain
• Fresh seafood dining
• Restaurant franchise opportunities
• Catering seafood services

Headquarters

HQ city

Key West

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food & Beverage Sales: Direct food and beverage sales to consumers at 6 restaurant locations and 1 food truck, featuring fresh seafood, chicken, and drinks with dine-in and takeout options.
2. Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchise partnerships where new operators pay to join the DJ's Clam Shack system, receiving training, operational support, and exclusive territory rights.
3. Catering Services: Catering menu offerings sold in bulk quantities (half trays, full trays) for events and parties, providing additional revenue per order.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DJ's Clam Shack operates a quick-service seafood restaurant chain combining Northern New England and Southern Florida Keys seafood traditions across six physical locations (Florida and New York) plus a food truck. Core offerings include freshly prepared seafood dishes (lobster rolls, fried clams, conch fritters, mahi mahi tacos), dine-in and takeout service with signature cone packaging, phone-order catering for events, and a franchise program granting exclusive territory rights.

Product overview

DJ's Clam Shack is a quick-service seafood restaurant chain founded in late 2009, operating on a single unified restaurant model across six physical locations (Key West FL, Indian Shores FL, St. Augustine FL, Huntington NY, Stony Brook NY, and Wantagh NY) plus one food truck. The offering combines northern New England seafood traditions (fried clams, lobster rolls, clam chowder) with southern Florida seafood influences (conch fritters, fresh Gulf seafood), using innovative 'cone' packaging for an accessible casual dining experience. The business portfolio includes the core restaurant operations, a food truck service, a franchise program offering exclusive territories of 50,000-100,000 population base, and catering services providing bulk quantities of signature items such as lobster rolls, conch fritters, fried shrimp, and clam strips. The brand was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and operates as a traditional quick-service restaurant model with direct supplier sourcing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DJ's Clam Shack Restaurant Locations Quick-service seafood restaurant operations at six physical locations across Florida (Key West, Indian Shores, St. Augustine) and New York (Huntington, Stony Brook, Wantagh), serving fresh seafood with dine-in and signature cone-packaged takeout.
• DJ's Clam Shack Food Truck

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Legal Sea Foods: Established New England seafood restaurant group (full-service and casual). Comparable on Northeast seafood heritage and premium positioning, though it skews sit-down rather than quick-service.

Direct peers

• Long John Silver's: Iconic American seafood QSR chain focused on fried fish, shrimp, and clams with a heavy franchise model. Directly comparable on quick-service seafood cuisine and franchise expansion mechanic.
• Luke's Lobster: Casual New England seafood shack concept with locations in major U.S. cities. Directly comparable on lobster roll-led menu, casual counter service, and urban/suburban footprint expansion.
• Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Tourist-location seafood chain famous for shrimp, lobster, and casual seafood fare. Comparable on tourist-catchment strategy, seafood menu depth, and themed casual dining format.
• Captain D's: Largest U.S. seafood QSR chain with ~500 locations. Most direct comparable on quick-service seafood positioning, counter-style service, and franchise-heavy unit growth model.
• The Clam Shack: Iconic seasonal seafood shack in Kennebunkport, ME, famous for fried clams and lobster rolls. Direct comparable on small-format, fresh seafood, New England heritage menu.
• Claw Daddy's: Growing New England-themed seafood restaurant chain with locations in NY and FL. Highly comparable on lobster roll-focused menu, casual seaside positioning, and franchise expansion in the same geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Red Lobster: Largest U.S. casual-dining seafood chain with broad menu and national footprint. Comparable seafood category position, though full-service and significantly larger scale.
• Bonefish Grill: National upscale-casual seafood chain owned by Darden. Overlaps on seafood menu and polished branding but operates full-service casual dining rather than quick-service.
• Joe's Crab Shack: National casual seafood chain known for crab, shrimp, and fish in a themed atmosphere. Comparable on casual seafood positioning and tourist/leisure customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/djsclamshackhuntington/?hl=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 DJ’s Clam Shack