Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman was an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

owner who legend has it invented the

fried clam Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, and deep-fried. Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England, what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants). Clam rolls are fried clams serv ...

. He opened

Woodman's of Essex Woodman's of Essex is a seafood restaurant in Essex, Massachusetts (approximately north of Boston). A local favorite, it is also known internationally for its fried clams and New England clam bakes. Woodman's has been a family business since its ...

, first as a clam shack, with his wife Bessie on Main Street in Essex, Massachusetts and sold freshly dug steamer clams as well as ice cream and homemade potato chips. Legend has it that Woodman invented

fried clams Fried clams are clams dipped in milk, floured, and deep-fried. Fried clams are an iconic food, "to New England, what barbecue is to the South". They tend to be served at seaside clam shacks (roadside restaurants). Clam rolls are fried clams serv ...

on July 3, 1916. According to the company website this happened during a visit from a friend and fisherman, Mr. Tarr of neighboring

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Chubby took his suggestion to put some clams into the oil used for deep-frying the potato chips. Some modifications were made, such as dipping the clams in

evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains add ...

and corn flour, and the

was born. Chubby Woodman's clam related innovations continued with the idea of mobilizing

New England clam bake The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the ingredi ...

. He used a truck loaded with food, boilers, and wood, and the clambake was done at the customer's preferred location. Woodman's restaurant now sells "clambakes to go," consisting of all the necessary ingredients such as

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

, clams, potatoes, and corn. Woody's legacy and his restaurant's focus on clams was adversely impacted in 2005 by a severe

red tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural phycotoxin, algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are ...

tightening the clam supplies and causing price increases. Woodman's was forced to import clams from Canada.

Family and legacy

Eventually, the family business came into the hands of Chubby’s son, Lawrence Dexter Woodman, commonly referred to as "Deck," and his wife Virginia. After his death in 1987, Deck’s children and grandchildren founded the L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship Fund. The scholarship provides scholarships of $20,000 to two local high school seniors to help them toward college; applicants are judged on character and community service, as well as on academics, extracurricular activities, and need. The scholarship fund hosts two main fundraising events each May, the "Taste of Essex," a tasting event with local food, and "Deck’s Day for Dubbers," a golf tournament.

Reputation

Woodman's reputation is recognized in many travel and restaurant guides, such as

Frommer's Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the company ...

''New England'', Frommer's ''Boston 2006'' and ''Boston 2007'', and their ''Irreverent Guide to Boston''.

Fodor The surname Fodor may refer to the following notable people: * Benjamin Fodor alias Phoenix Jones (born 1988), American real-life superhero * Carel Anton Fodor (1768–1846), Dutch conductor and composer * Carl Fodor (born 1963), American football ...

included the restaurant in their ''Where to Weekend Around Boston'', and the ''Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants 2008'' affirms it has the best fried clams.

References

{{Reflist Businesspeople from Massachusetts