As the U.S. lobster season in Maine gears up to its June start, customers are paying highly for lobster rolls.
Hailed as the expensive side of lobster dishes, lobster rolls were costing $30 per 4-ounce piece in mid-April 2024.
A lobster roll is a sandwich the size of a hot dog made of toasted wheat bun stuffed with lobster meat.
2024 Price Tag Reflects 2022 Prices
The spring 2024 lobster roll price of $30 mirrors that of mid-2022. The price climb began in summer 2022 when lobster rolls retailed at $30.54 apiece and the trend peaked in fall 2023. By September 2023, the price in New York was averaging $32 a roll.
Interestingly, at the start of the price appreciation in May 2022, live lobster prices were falling in Maine. While fishermen slashed live lobster prices from $12.25 to $9.35 a pound in May 2022, restaurant owners did the opposite.
Seafood analysts linked this price raise on lobster rolls just when live lobster prices were down to spiking running costs. Apparently, staff wages and distribution costs had risen during COVID-19 years. In comparison, the April 2024 high menu price results directly from low lobster supplies rather than running costs.
Restaurants sell several weight options of lobster rolls that include 4 ounces, 4.5 ounces and the 8-oz jumbo. In May 2022, the most expensive choice was the jumbo size, which cost $47.99 in Maine restaurants.
A Confined History of Maine Lobster Rolls
These sandwiches had confinement in New England states between the 1920s and 1990s before they became popular nationwide.
Lobster rolls began in Connecticut in the 1920s and they only became commonplace in Maine in the 1950s.
Since mid-20th century, eating a lobster roll has been a popular culture for tourists visiting Maine. As such, lobster chefs, distributors and waiters benefit directly from food-based tourism revenue that flows into the state.
Maine receives most of its lobster dish enthusiasts during late spring and the start of summer, from May to June. During this time, prices of lobster dishes simmer down a little due to rising lobster supplies. But affordable food is not the only reason for visiting the state in summer: warming weather also attracts people to New England around June.
The confinement of lobster rolls in Maine was broken in the 1990s when the dish became accessible nationwide.
New York would help disburse the snack to the rest of the U.S. in the 1990s via the Pearl Oyster Bar chain.
Thus, as the lobster season in Maine brings new supplies, many look forward to cheaper lobster rolls.