Fairhaven’s New Food Truck Does What Few Others Do

Liam Saunders grew up in New Bedford and now lives in Westport.

Before opening up his food truck called Leni's Catch, he had never taken a class on cooking.

"I'd never cooked anything," Saunders said, but that didn't stop him from opening a food truck.

Get our free mobile app

While he'd never cooked, Saunders did have some experience in the food industry.

"I used to sell seafood in downtown New Bedford for three years, and I decided to open up the food truck as a side gig," he said.

Eventually, Saunders worked up the courage to take the leap and focus solely on the food truck.

The big twist?  It would be a food truck that specializes in seafood.  Considering we live in the most lucrative seafood port in America, you'd think we'd see a whole lot more of food trucks specializing in seafood, but for some inexplicable reason, at least on this side of New Bedford, we don't. On the other side, Dicky's Clam Shack in Dartmouth comes to mind.

"Just search around Massachusetts in general; there's nobody out there serving seafood in a food truck. So, I created a little niche with what I'm doing," Saunders said.

After some time at the Seaport Inn, Saunders has landed outside Fairhaven's new SouthCoast Pickleball complex.  "They get about 200 people coming in and out of here every day, but I'm actually getting most of my business from walk-up customers in the area."

Where does he get his seafood? Saunders kept his cards close to the vest.  "I get my seafood from a couple of different spots. I don't want to give away my secrets, but I buy from a few guys I've known for a long time, guys I trust."

Leni's Catch is open Wednesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.