Savas and Victoria Alkoc have always loved trying seafood in Maine. Now, they’re sharing that love (and lobster) with the Garden State.
FREEHOLD, NJ — As National Lobster Day gets underway, one local couple is bringing a taste of Maine’s seafood to the Garden State with their mobile lobster truck.
Savas and Victoria Alkoc, the owners of the Freehold-based Cousins Maine Lobster truck, are longtime Freehold residents and use their truck to provide Maine lobster rolls and more to towns and boroughs throughout New Jersey.
Founded in 2012 by cousins Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, the Alkocs’ truck is part of the Cousins Maine Lobster brand, which gained traction following an appearance on Shark Tank, where they partnered with real estate mogul and shark Barbara Corcoran.
Since then, Cousins Maine Lobster has franchised and expanded their footprint across the U.S. via food halls, brick & mortar restaurants, and food trucks like the Alkocs.’
“The whole point of the truck is that everything is authentic Maine,” Savas Alkoc told Patch in a phone interview. “It’s what you would get if you went to Maine, which is known for its lobster.”
Though Cousins Maine Lobster has been expanding since their launch in 2012, the Alkocs first came to own their Freehold-based truck due to a trip that Savas and his son regularly take to Boston for hockey tournaments.
While in the area, Savas said he and his son would frequent the local food trucks (such as Cousins Maine Lobster), and that, eventually, their food truck visits turned into a tradition.
After returning home to the Garden State from one of their trips, Savas discussed his and his son’s tradition with his brother, who asked, “Why not bring it to New Jersey?”
“At that point I said, ‘Well, I don’t know anybody that I would call to bring a lobster truck to New Jersey,’” Savas recounted to Patch.
Though Savas wasn’t sure of who to call, his brother had heard of Cousins Maine Lobster from their appearance on Shark Tank and encouraged Savas to reach out. After meeting up with Lomac, who happened to be in New Jersey at the time, Savas said the rest “was history.”
“It’s been a heck of an adventure,” Savas said. “We’ve [Cousins Maine Lobster] started with one truck, and now we’re in multiple states. It’s been quite a journey.”
Today, the Alkocs’ truck is based in Freehold, though they travel to multiple places throughout New Jersey and sometimes outside the Garden State as well.
On Thursday, the truck will be at the Jackson Premium Outlets from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., where visitors can celebrate National Lobster Day with them.
At the Freehold food truck, customers can choose from a variety of lobster rolls as well as lobster tots, lobster tacos, lobster bisque and more. If you ask Savas, he says the lobster rolls are “hands down” the signature items on their truck.
“It depends on how you like [your lobster roll], is the question,” Savas said. “For me, I’m seasonal. In the summer, I love a nice, chilled Maine roll with a little mayo. In the winter, I switch to a different roll…it depends on the season, depends on the person, but you can’t go wrong with a lobster roll.”
Though the Alkocs’ truck will be at the Jackson Premium Outlets for National Lobster Day, Savas said they’re still deeply intertwined with the Freehold community and can often be found at local festivals and events throughout town.
“It’s personal with us,” Savas said. “We’ve grown with the towns and the festivals both in Freehold and out of Freehold…we support a lot of local businesses and collaborate with them and try to give back as much as possible.”
More than anything, Savas said he and his wife aim to stay genuine to what their food truck can offer the community, hoping that with their lobster dishes, they can bring a little taste of Maine to New Jersey residents.
“We try to stay genuine, we try to stay with our products, with our trucks – bringing everything back home to Maine. That’s really the whole point of it,” Savas said. “A lot of people haven’t been to Maine, but it’s a tremendous state and great, great, great food. So we try to bring it over locally, and that’s been great.”