Iconic Harpswell, Maine Eatery Reopening in 2026

Considering Maine is right on the Atlantic Ocean, it should not be a big surprise that we have many great seafood restaurants.

These eateries come in all types and sizes.  In Portland, there are high end seafood restaurants, in many coastal towns we have family-friendly sit down restaurants.  And, of course, the roads along our coastline are dotted with seafood take-out spots.

One of these spots is on the Harpswell-Brunswick line on Route 24.

One of the area's most memorable seafood take-out spots will soon reopen.

Many will remember Fat Pat's Take Out, which sat in a little building on Route 24 for years, serving up its family-recipe fried clams.  Even though the place closed ages ago, the old sign is still there, faded but hanging on like a memory.

According to an article in the Harpswell Anchor, Fat Pat's will soon reopen.

There is still plenty of work ahead, but Russell Coffin says the plan is to bring the clam shack back to life.  He runs a wholesale shellfish operation at the site, and he and property owners Jeff Janvrin and Jen Brown hope to reopen sometime in the spring or summer of 2026.

Coffin says the business goes way back.  It started with the late Darrell Moody and his wife, Patricia, who everyone knew as the original Fat Pat.  Eventually it changed hands and was sold to the late Lionel Levasseur from Brunswick.

And here is the fun part. Lionel’s wife was also named Patricia, so they kept the Fat Pat’s name.  Coffin says Pat Levasseur didn’t mind stepping into the nickname because the place really was a gold mine.

Coffin says it was her batter that made the magic happen. When you pair that with fresh clams pulled straight from local mud flats, you end up with something sweet, tender and far less gritty than clams from sandy spots.

People still swing through all the time just to share a memory.  Someone will stop in and talk about grabbing fried clams from Fat Pat’s on their honeymoon or on some summer vacation. That little eatery definitely left its mark.

While we do not have a reopening date for the new Fat Pat's, we will bring you updates as we get them and we wish the new operators all the best.