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From trap to table, Maine lobsters often travel great distances to reach their final destination on your plate. With locations as close to the source as Boston or as far flung as Las Vegas and Japan, Luke’s Lobster founder, Luke Holden, and president Ben Conniff, both 31, are working to preserve the feeling of sitting on a wharf by the bay no matter where you’re enjoying their restaurant’s seafood specialties.

The very first Luke’s Lobster location opened in New York City’s East Village in 2009, since then, they’ve added 18 more in the U.S., in nine states, and opened five locations in Japan. “We had our most aggressive year ever last year as far as growth,” says Holden, a Maine native. Halfway into 2016, they’ve cut the ribbon on another three spots with plans for a new location in Miami in the fall.

Unsurprisingly, summer is Luke’s Lobster’s busiest season. And on a hot July day, the lunch line starts forming at their 43rd Street location around 11:30 a.m. It’s a jarring juxtaposition, walking from the sweltering, scaffolded Midtown street into a cool Luke’s Lobster shack that offers everything to bring you to the seaside, minus the sea. It’s the closest to the beach you’ll get on your lunch break.

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