Seekonk Restaurant Finds a ‘Good Home’ for Rare Orange Lobster

A popular restaurant in Seekonk found itself in the middle of a rescue mission when a rare orange lobster was found amongst the latest seafood delivery.

The Old Grist Mill Tavern is in the middle of its annual Lobster Fest, serving up an average of 600 lobsters a week, but the restaurant’s owner, Karl Pelletier, was quick to take the orange lobster off the menu after guests pointed out just how rare it was.

Get our free mobile app

Orange Lobster Spotted at Old Grist Mill Tavern

“Right now, we have a whole menu geared towards lobsters, and recently, we got an orange lobster,” said Pelletier. “We put it in the tank and I didn’t think much of it.”

Lovingly named Bruce, the lobster quickly became the “new pet” and was off limits for consumption, but it wasn’t until guests began noticing Bruce that Pelletier realized how rare an orange lobster is.

“Guests were telling us to call an aquarium because it’s so rare,” he said. “I’ve heard of blue lobster being rare, but I had no idea about orange lobsters.”

An orange lobster is actually rarer than the blue lobster. According to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver, the orange lobster’s color results from a genetic mutation. While the chances of a blue lobster are one in 2 million, the chances of an orange lobster are one in 30 million.

Pelletier decided it was ultimately best that Bruce find a better home. It wasn’t safe for a lobster of any color to be a part of Lobster Fest.

READ MORE: Middleboro Restaurant Named One of America's Best 

Save the Bay Rescues Orange Lobster from Restaraunt

“I reached out to Save the Bay,” shared Pelletier. “I felt like that was the appropriate choice. Their organization is all about saving natural habitats.”

Save the Bay aims to protect, restore, and improve the ecological health of the Narragansett Bay region.

While they have an excellent facility that displays some of the animals found in the bay, the organization also returns the animals to the bay over time.

“Bruce will be on display for the rest of summer, then he will get released back to the bay,” shared Pelletier. “He was a little feisty, but we got him out. We are clear of cooking Bruce.”

The staff was sad to see Bruce go, but it was a happy ending for the rare lobster, and Save the Bay was happy to take him in.

Orange lobster is most certainly not on the menu at Old Grist Mill Tavern, but guests can still enjoy Lobster Fest from now until September 15^th and enjoy twin-steamed lobsters for only $25.