Cousins Maine Lobster

Cousins Maine Lobster Shark Tank update: is it still in business?

Cousins Maine Lobster began as a single food truck in Los Angeles in 2012, started by cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac, who grew up in Portland, Maine and wanted to bring the lobster rolls they remembered to Southern California. They pitched in the Season 4 episode that aired October 19, 2012, asking for $55,000 for 5%, and closed a deal with Barbara Corcoran at $55,000 for 15% of the company, according to Business Insider and the Portland Press Herald. Corcoran's background in real estate and franchising turned out to be the key fit. Instead of only adding company-owned trucks, the cousins moved to a franchise model; Wikipedia records ten franchisees signed by 2014 and 26 trucks across 13 states by 2017, along with a first brick-and-mortar restaurant in West Hollywood in 2015. The partnership kept paying off. In June 2025, the company announced it had passed $1 billion in systemwide sales, a milestone reported by the Portland Press Herald. Systemwide sales include franchisee revenue, so this is not the same as company revenue. Is Cousins Maine Lobster still in business? Yes. As of October 14, 2026, the official site is live with a location finder, catering, an online shop and franchise recruiting, and the company issued a press release in 2026 about a New Mexico truck tour. Location counts change often; we cite the company's own figures and have not independently counted units.