ABOUT ME

SADIE SAMUELS
LIFETIME LOBSTER FISHERMAN AND ENTREPRENEUR

Hey lobster lovers! I'm Sadie Samuels. I am captain of the F/V Must Be Nice and owner of Must Be Nice Lobster. I have been lucky enough to grow up on the rugged coast of Maine and have spent most of my life on and in the Atlantic Ocean. The tenacious and hardworking people here have greatly shaped who I am as a person and an artist. For me, fishing has always been a way of life. My father has been a commercial fisherman for over 55 years - and when you grow up with a family fishing lineage like that, it naturally becomes a part of your life too. I was able to realize my passion early on and acquire my student lobster license by the age of 7. When I was 14 I had completed the required (training/student) hours and was able to secure a commercial license. This license allowed me to add another 100 traps each year until I got to the full limit of 800 traps. While still working up to this 800 trap limit I wasn’t able to haul every day... which was my ultimate goal. With my "spare time" I started selling lobster at the farmers' market on Saturdays. Little did I know that this would send me on an amazing journey! 

When I was 17 I went to Humboldt State University in California. I came home every summer to fish and pay for school. I received a degree in fine art with an emphasis on printmaking. When I graduated I moved home to Maine and started trying to fish full time, however, I still didn’t have the 800 trap limit so I continued selling lobster at the farmers market. This soon morphed into selling lobster rolls, thanks to an enormous amount of community encouragement and realizing that I had still been searching for that perfect lobster roll myself. Taking hold of that industrious fishing spirit I decided to make my own! 

After four years of running our stand at the farmers market, I decided to jump on the opportunity to open my own food truck! Our amazing team was able to operate the food cart on the Belfast Harbor Walk for a few more years and helped develop the area into a food truck destination for the Belfast community. Ultimately though, this location was not the right space for our extraordinary and continued growth. After some local scouting, Must Be Nice Lobster has finally found a new space to call home! As of June 2022 we have moved into the lower level of 2 Cross St. in beautiful downtown Belfast, Maine. This space has allowed me to put all of my ideas and passions into one singular location.  

Now we are fishing full time, have the Must Be Nice food cart at 2 Cross St. in Belfast, have an ever evolving gift shop filled with goodies, and are ALSO running the "Snack Shack" at the Belfast City Park! This business journey has come with countless hardships and obstacles but I couldn't be more proud of where my team and I have landed - and for the vision we continue to push for everyday! 

Thank you for checking us out and may you have calm winds and following seas on all of your adventures.