JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- “86 the lobster” is music to Julianne Lilly’s ears. She’s the owner of Cousins Maine Lobster restaurant in Neptune Beach, which had to briefly close less than 24 hours after its grand opening.
“We ordered enough food for about 300 people, but we had more than 1,000 show up,” Lilly said. “We opened Friday at 5 p.m. and by then, there was a line wrapped around the building.”
The restaurant closed its doors to customers on Monday as staff regrouped and ordered supplies.
“I had to order shipments, take inventory and just make sure my staff is ready to go when we reopen,” she said.
READ MORE: First Coast Foodies: 'Shark Tank' winner Cousins Maine Lobster opens Neptune Beach eatery
Lilly said it’s been a life-long dream to open a restaurant with cuisine inspired by her hometown of New England.
“When I moved to Jacksonville nine years ago, I always craved food from back home, so when the opportunity presented itself to partner with the Cousins Maine Lobster, I jumped at the opportunity and here we are,” she said.
The idea for Cousins Maine Lobster came in 2011 when cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac were discussing food they used to eat while growing up in Portland, Maine. Impressed with the Los Angeles food truck industry, they decided to start selling Maine lobster in the L.A. area.
The company received an investment of $55,000 from Barbara Corcoran after appearing on Shark Tank in 2012.
Cousins opened its first brick and mortar location in 2015. Located in West Hollywood, the restaurant has additional menu items not found on the food trucks. At the time of the store opening, the company was operating 15 food trucks in 11 cities, and 26 trucks in 13 states by 2017. In April 2018, the Cousins published an e-book in the hope of inspiring other entrepreneurs to start a business, and not lose hope.