Community Corner

Dedham Summer Shack Specializes in Fresh Seafoods

From pan roasted lobster to raw oysters and fried clams, the Dedham Summer Shack managers and chef speak about what makes them fresh.

The employees at the Summer Shack in Dedham have a passion for serving some of the best seafood in the area.

Pan roasted lobster, fried clams, and an extensive raw bar are just some of the items on the menu.

Famous Boston chef Jasper White opened the Summer Shack in Dedham in 2011 but it is the Dedham managers who have given it the feel of a local family-style restaurant.

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General Manager Vincent Lombardi and Assistant GM Rick Laccetti  have added a local touch to the restaurant, occasionally offering free appetizers to first-time customers and holding fun events such as Mardi Gras parties, while Executive Chef Mike Madden keeps customers happy by cooking up Jasper’s recipes.

Because of its mixture of friendly service and fresh seafood, Patch decided to sit down with managers Lombardi and Laccetti and chef Madden to learn a little more about the Summer Shack

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Patch: When did Summer Shack open?

Madden: In June 2011 on first day of summer.

Patch: Why did Summer Shack open in Dedham?

Lombardi:  Jasper is such  a family, community guy.  He loves the community.  He is huge into talking to people in general and I think you get that at this location.  It’s a different feel to our location in Boston, because there’s a lot of tourists there.  Here, we see a lot of the same faces.  When he’s here once or twice a week he will got table to table and say hello, signing autographs.  We want everyone to feel welcome when they walked in the restaurant.

Patch: What is the most popular item on the menu?

Laccetti: Jasper’s Pan roasted lobster. It’s a dish that people order when celebrating a birthday or special occasion. It’s a great selling point.  It’s never been sent back.

Patch: Besides lobster, what else is very popular?

Lombardi:  Our fried clams. We’ve been buying them from the same guy in Ipswich for over a decade. We have an awesome raw bar, and four to six items on the board at all times.  Cherry stones, steamers.

Patch: What about your barbecue selections?

Madden: We’ve done a lot of work on the barbecue too. We’re the only (Summer Shack) that has barbecue.  We do ribs and smoked pulled chicken.  We have a couple different barbecue plates.  We have a full rack, half rack, surf and turf, and a barbecue plate with a half rack and pulled chicken.


Patch: Personally, what are your favorite items on the menu?

Lombardi: Oysters.
Laccetti: Rhode Island calamari.
Madden: Pan roasted crab legs

 

Patch: Tell me a little about the freshness of your seafood.

Lombardi: All of our fish is scaled and cut in house. We have that ability because we own George’s Bank now. We have our own fish trucks so we cut the middle man out.
Madden: Our stuff is out of the water for a shorter time than other competitors that prides themselves on freshness.  We sell to some of the bigger fish houses in Boston.  We sell to Foley’s fish and bigger companies. A lot of fish is out of the water the same day we cook it.


Patch: 
You just launched a new Sunday Brunch. Tell me about that.

Lombardi: We took over the restaurant last November and we started this on New Year’s and we called it a Hangover Brunch and it sold out. Then we did an Easter day brunch, and that sold out.  So we realized that we were hurting on Sundays because of football, so we decided to roll out the brunch every Sunday. We started it on Labor Day weekend.

 

Patch: What do you serve with brunch?

Laccetti:  French toast, caramelized apples, pancakes, apple cider doughnut holes, Crab Cakes Benedict, lobster hash with pouched eggs.
Lombardi: Chicken waffles, sausages with French Toast.  It’s lunch with a twist.  


Patch: 
What different events are held here?  

Laccetti: We have had  a barbecue event, Hangover Brunch, Fat Tuesday’s, and put out special menus for the season.  On Valentine’s Day we cater to couples.  On Fat Tuesday, we don’t worry about the calories as much.  


Patch: 
I also want to know a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and what do you bring to this business to make it better?

Lombardi:  I’m from the Revere/East Boston area.  I just try to make customers happy.  That’s my goal,  I like seeing everybody happy and having a good time.  Dedham’s a great area.  Being part of a small business is wonderful.  People need to support small businesses, it helps the economy. It’s a fun field to be in.

Laccetti:  I’m from Leominster.  I commuter here everyday.  I think we compliment each other very well.  I’m the behind the scenes guy.  I do a lot of number crunching, predict trends and anticipate labor needs. 

Madden:  I’m from the Sierra Nevada region in Quincy, California but have been on the East Coast since 1996.  I come from a world of fine dining like table cloth high-end food.  I  think I bring attention to detail with my food. 


Patch: What is your favorite thing about Dedham customers?

Laccetti: A lot of them recognize the difference in quality an they come to expect it.  You can go anywhere for frozen seafood, you come here for richness.  You can tell the taste and the preparation.

Lombardi: I like getting to know the people.  You get to know the customers.   We support the Pop-Warner teams.  You see kids coming  after practice with their cleats on.

Madden: It has that small time feel while still being part of the metro-Boston area.  It has that community-tight-knit feel.

 

Patch: What is the best way to promote your business?

Lombardi: Service.  I call it random acts of kindness. We walk over to an appetizer to random customers.  We go over shake hands and meet our customers. You’re not a number here.

Patch: What reactions have you gotten from customers?

Laccetti: We had one woman literally swearing  over our pan roasted lobster.  She was so excited about how good this dish was.
Lombardi: We get a lot of thank you cards and thank you letter.

 

Patch: Anything Dedham could do better for small business?

SS: The traffic is rough but everyone’s been great.

Watch how Chef Madden prepares Jasper's famous pan roasted lobster.


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