History

It was 1935 in Ipswich, MA. Two young men had a vision: a quest to meet the growing demands of area restaurants for fresh, local seafood.

George Pappas, along with several clam diggers, teamed up with Joe Sikora, a natural salesman, and started a business. After six years, and a flourishing start to the business, Joe Sikora left to pursue other ventures. Today, Ipswich Shellfish Co., Inc. is one of the leading seafood processing and distributing companies across the country!

From the start, Ipswich Shellfish Co., Inc. has been a leader in the seafood industry. George Pappas went to extraordinary efforts to provide his customers with exactly what they wanted: fresh, quality seafood at a competitive price, delivered quickly.

Located in the heart of Ipswich, MA, the modern processing plant soon housed 70 clam shuckers working on the daily catch of 75 clam diggers. The seafood was delivered in what was unusual and innovative at the time – refrigerated trucks. Two trucks made the daily route delivering ocean-fresh clams, lobsters, scallops and oysters. He fostered friendships with reliable suppliers – local clam diggers, fishermen and lobstermen. Those relationships were at the core of his business and he knew he needed to be just as dependable and reliable of a supplier for his customers. As a result, Pappas enjoyed a well-earned, loyal customer base; some of his original customers are still with the company today. With growing business and the increasing demand for popular seafood, George Pappas harbored a second vision – to provide a larger variety of the freshest seafood throughout the United States and Ipswich Shellfish Group expanded.

1949: MAINE SHELLFISH CO., INC.
To supply far-reaching customers with fresh seafood and to keep up with the growing demand, a new plant was opened in Ellsworth, Maine. The new plant distributed famous Maine Lobsters and other seafood to northern New England.

1960: UNITED SHELLFISH CO., INC.
The ever-expanding Ipswich Shellfish Group opened a third plant in Grasonville, Maryland. Deep in the Chesapeake Bay, precious shellfish – clams, oysters, crabs – were harvested and brought to an expanded number of customers.

1985: CONNECTICUT SHELLFISH CO., INC.
With the other three plants running successfully, a fourth, ultra-modern processing plant was opened in Branford, Connecticut. With distribution to more New England states, Ipswich Shellfish Group was indeed "supplying the demand."

2005: MAINE SHELLFISH CO., INC., KENNEBUNK
To meet the explosion of demand in southern Maine and to assure premium service, a new processing and distribution facility was opened in Kennebunk, Maine.

2008: LOWCOUNTRY SHELLFISH, INC.
The coastal area of South Carolina (generally referred to as the Lowcountry) is rich in both history and seafood resources. The addition of this location is another step to supplying the demand and expanding our distribution’s network into the Carolinas and down the east coast.

2012: MAINE SHELLFISH CO., INC., KENNEBUNK – LOBSTERS
To meet the growing demand of Maine-harvested lobsters, an additional location was opened at Maine Shellfish Company, Inc., Kennebunk to house the lobster pool.