Bart Mansi started lobstering as a teenager in the 1970s, working aboard commercial boats in Long Island Sound and running vessels out of New Haven. By 1983, after years of experience on the water, he launched his own lobstering business—starting with a boat named the Jani M, after his wife.

Over the years, Bart captained multiple boats, building a reputation for hard work, quality, and dedication to his craft. In 1991, Bart opened the Guilford Lobster Pound—a small shop where locals could buy live lobsters fresh off the boat. In 1997, he had the Erica Page built—a 42-foot custom lobster boat named after his daughter. With it, he continued hauling traps from the Sound, catching thousands of pounds of lobster each season.

Business was booming. At its peak, Bart was pulling in more than 100,000 pounds of lobster a year, supplying his dockside pound with some of the freshest seafood on the Connecticut shoreline.

But everything changed in the early 2000s.

After Hurricane Floyd in 1999, storm runoff combined with pesticide spraying along the coast—aimed at controlling mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus—was believed to have contributed to a catastrophic lobster die-off. Over 95% of the Long Island Sound lobster population was wiped out. With lobsters taking 5–7 years to reach legal harvesting size, the future for local lobstermen looked bleak.

To keep the business afloat, Bart adapted. In 2007, he expanded the Lobster Pound into a seasonal restaurant, serving hot, buttery lobster rolls and other dockside favorites. What began as a pivot during hard times quickly became a shoreline sensation. Locals and visitors alike flocked to the casual, no-frills spot for fresh seafood and waterfront views.

Today, the Guilford Lobster Pound stands as a Connecticut landmark—beloved by generations of families and travelers passing through.

And Bart? He’s still at it. Every morning at 4:00 AM, you’ll find him aboard the Erica Page, pulling traps just like he has for decades. Now joined by his son, Bart Jr., who captains his own boat—the Jani M, named for his mother—the Mansi family continues to honor the tradition that started generations ago: serving honest seafood with deep roots in the Sound.