A Third Generation Maine Lobster Company
Maine is the leading lobster producer in the United States. With its cold waters and abundant supply of lobster, Maine is the definitive source for this mouth-watering delicacy.
Bill Atwood is the grandson of a lobster fisherman. When asked why he chose to join the lobster fishing profession himself, he says with a smile, "I was born into it - as my father was."
In 1920, Bill's grandfather, a lobster fisherman in Nova Scotia, moved his family to Boston where Bill's father soon started a wholesale lobster business on Atlantic Avenue. In the early 1940s, 10-year-old Bill Atwood played around the lobster plant watching his father's employees pack all the lobsters in wooden barrels. In those days they had 100 lobster tanks made from wood.
The Atwood family's lobster business survived the Depression and World War II, continuing to thrive up until 1950, when a devastating fire burned the entire business down flat. At that point, the Atwood family made the decision to move up to Maine to be "closer to the source."
Bill Atwood worked part-time in his father's business while attending high school. He took part in every aspect of the business from lobster fishing, packing, even driving the delivery trucks. After graduating from high school and college and finishing a stint in the Marine Corps, Bill Atwood ventured out on his own in 1962 and launched the Atwood Lobster Company. Back in those days, Bill bought from seven boats and paid local lobster fishermen 40 cents a pound. In that first year, the company sold 120,000 pounds of lobster.
In May of 2011, Atwood Lobster Company was purchased by Mazzetta Company, LLC based in Highland Park, IL. Mazzetta Company specializes in frozen seafood products. One of it's largest items being frozen lobster. By purchasing this wonderful facility on the coast of Maine, Mazzetta Company has moved into a position of complete vertical integration.