Denverite Drew Ryan, who is originally from Manchester, Maine, was raised on fresh lobster and fried clams. “I grew up eating well,” he said.
When he moved to Denver in 2006, after attending film school in Los Angeles, he founded the music production company Moboogie. But after a decade, he craved change and missed the tastes of home.
“There wasn’t really anything out here in Colorado,” Ryan said of fresh seafood. “I saw a void and wanted to fill it.”
In 2019, he opened Maine Shack in Denver, expanding to Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High a month later. A few months into his ventures, Ryan’s dad passed away, and then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. So Ryan spent more time in Marco Island, Florida, where his mom lives.
In Naples, a 30-minute drive north of Marco Island on the mainland, Ryan opened up a Maine Shack food truck at the end of 2021. Last year, he launched a Maine Shack stall at Fenway South, the spring training field for the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. He also sells at Denver’s Coors Field.
In November 2023, Maine Shack extended its reach to Boulder on 16th Street, near the Pearl Street Mall, where it shares its signature lobster rolls with locals.
“I definitely wanted to be near Pearl Street, or on Pearl Street,” Ryan said. “That was where we were focusing all of our attention.” Maine Shack’s Boulder location, like its other spots, prioritizes the use of fresh East Coast seafood.
Several times a week, Ryan’s team visits the Denver International Airport to pick up Southwest Cargo shipments of lobster and scallops from Maine, along with haddock and clams from Massachusetts.
Boulder’s Maine Shack features various lobster roll options. Each roll, consisting of lobster meat on a New England-style bun and served with chips, has its own distinct flavors — one with brown butter and chives, another with cucumber, celery, mayonnaise and lettuce. Patrons can also opt for a lobster roll served Maine Shack-style, featuring mayonnaise cut with sea water.
If lobster isn’t your thing, the menu includes fried clams, shrimp, scallops or haddock. Side options include lobster macaroni and cheese, salad, fries, onion rings, potato salad and clam chowder.
Boulder also has specials, such as lobster stew and seafood bouillabaisse with chunks of lobster and haddock, plus shrimp, scallops and clams in a tomato-based broth. Ryan said he plans to add more specials to the Boulder menu.
While Denver’s Maine Shack serves cocktails, beer and wine in cans, the Boulder location has full bar service with eight beer taps, including selections from the Maine Beer Company. Cocktails include a lobster bloody mary and the Maine mule, made with blueberries from Ryan’s home state. During happy hour, Monday through Thursday from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., all wine, beer and well drinks are half off.
Both Colorado Maine Shack interiors incorporate items from Maine, making the restaurants feel straight out of the East Coast.
“Not only is our food all sourced from Maine and Massachusetts, but all the decor in there — even the barn door and banquette made out of reclaimed wood — is from Maine,” Ryan said. He handpicked most of the Boulder decor, including a ship wheel, vintage signs and lobster traps that hang from the ceiling, from antique shops and marine salvage companies on Maine’s Route 1, a highway that runs along its southern coast.
“We want you to feel like you’re stepping out of Boulder,” Ryan said, “and walking into Maine every time you walk in the Maine Shack.”
Maine Shack at 2010 16th Street is open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
