Could Wichita soon get its own Cousins Maine Lobster truck?

When famous food truck Cousins Maine Lobster rolled into Wichita in November of 2024, the reception was beyond enthusiastic.

The truck — part of a national chain that formed after its owners successfully appeared on “Shark Tank” 13 years ago— set up shop in the parking lot of the Lowe’s at Maple and Ridge. And despite chilly afternoon temperatures, the line to order often stretched 150 people deep. Customers reported standing in line for four and a half hours just to order lobster rolls, lobster quesadillas and lobster grilled cheese sandwiches.

Since then, one of the company’s two Kansas City-based trucks has been back in the Wichita area several times, and one of them is about to return again. This time, though, the truck will bring with it the company’s director of franchise development, who will be searching for the right person to open a Wichita-based truck.

Lindsay Herberger said that one of the company’s two Kansas City-based trucks will be in the Wichita area for a five-day period starting on Wednesday, Aug. 20. It will set up service at the Lowe’s at 2626 N. Maize Road from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, and will also stop in Derby, Andover, Salina and Hutchinson.

Not only will the truck be serving its menu of seafood specialties during those stops, but Herberger will be on site talking to customers who could turn into lobster truck franchisees. She’ll also be meeting with a few people in the area who have already reached out and expressed interest.

Once the company identifies and approves a franchisee for Wichita, she said, a truck could realistically open within 90 days. That would mean the Wichita area would have access to lobster rolls five to six days a week rather than once every few months.

“We’ve been doing these pop-ups around the United States, and they’ve been really successful for us,” she said. “It’s kind of a unique way to not only just create brand awareness, but also really make sure folks know that we are looking for a new franchisee.”

A ‘Shark Tank’ success story

Back in 2012, Cousins Maine Lobster was a single Los Angeles food truck being operated by co-founders (and cousins) Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac. The duo, who both grew up in Portland, Maine, started the truck as a way to share their love of fresh East Coast lobster with the West Coast.

Cousins Maine Lobster found success quickly, and among its early fans were producers of “Shark Tank,” which invites hopeful entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to wealthy investors like Mark Cuban and real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran. The producers encouraged the cousins to appear on the show, and they eventually agreed. Viewers of the episode, which aired in 2012, saw Tselikis and Lomac walk away with a $55,000 investment from Corcoran, who in turn got a 15% stake in the company.

After that, the company took off. Today, there are 88 Cousins Maine Lobster locations across the United States that touch 35 states. Most are food trucks, but the company also has a few brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Six of those locations — including the two food trucks in Kansas City — are company-owned. The rest are franchised. Cousins initially entered the Kansas City market in July 2024 and was so successful that it added a second truck in December. Those are the trucks that occasionally visit the Wichita area.

But the company is now in the midst of a nationwide franchise growth initiative and hopes to open 100 more locations in the second quarter of 2026. Wichita is one of its focus markets, partially because the city has already developed “brand awareness” from the occasional visits that started late last year, Herberger said.

Franchisees get a big perk: When the company signs someone new on, they send them to Portland, Maine, and give them the chance to go out on a lobster boat and see where the product is sourced.

“They get to bait and pull lobster traps and get the full experience of what it takes to get those lobsters from the shore into their market,” Herberger said. “So it’s an amazing experience for them and something they get to go and take back to their teams and share that experience.”

Success in seafood deserts

The specialty at a Cousins Maine Lobster truck is the lobster roll, an East Coast specialty that features lobster meat on a grilled bun. Cousins serves Maine-style and Connecticut-style lobster rolls: The former is served chilled with mayonnaise. The latter is served warm with lemon butter.

Cousins Maine Lobster has gone over particularly well in land-locked “seafood deserts” like Kansas, Herberger said.

“They don't a lot of times have accessibility to this high-quality seafood offering that we provide,” she said. “And so we create that demand in the market. We really create that buzz and that excitement.”

That buzz and excitement usually results in those long lines people have seen forming when Cousins Maine Lobster comes to town. And when people drive by and see the long lines, Herberger said, they tend to stop to see what they’re missing.

Lobster rolls run about $24, which Herberger said is pretty reasonable for a lobster dish. The trucks’ menus also feature lower-priced items like lobster grilled cheese sandwiches ($20), lobster tacos (three for $21), and a lobster tail with tots ($21.) Lobster bisque, New England clam chowder, loaded lobster tots and lobster quesadillas also are available, and the trucks serve Whoopie Pies for dessert.

“Our product is a very desirable product, kind of a celebratory item,” Herberger said. “And so folks definitely want to come out and treat themselves. We’re providing it at a very affordable price compared to what you would maybe pay for lobster if you went to some fine dining, sit-down, white-tablecloth restaurant.”

Anyone interested in talking about franchising can visit the truck during its visit or go to the company’s website for more information. Here’s its schedule:

Aug. 20: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Atwood’s Ranch & Home Goods, 400 S. Broadway, Salina

Aug. 21: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Atwood’s Ranch & Home Goods 1320 E 30th Ave, Hutchinson, KS 67502

Aug. 22: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Atwoods Ranch & Home Goods. 426 S. Andover Road, Andover

Aug. 23: noon-8 p.m., Lowe’s Home Improvement, 2626 N. Maize Road, Wichita

Aug. 24: noon-8 p.m., Lowe’s Home Improvement, 424 W. Patriot Ave., Derby

Cousins Maine Lobster menu

This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 5:02 AM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.