Lobster Returns to Captain Dusty's, Three Decades Later

It's mind-boggling in Manchester that you can't get a lobster roll to go.”

Summer is for ice cream.  It's also for lobster rolls.  And for the first time in three decades, lobster has returned to one of Manchester's most recognizable waterfront landmarks.

Every weekend this summer, Vine Street Lobster Rolls is serving fresh lobster rolls outside Captain Dusty's Ice Cream on Beach Street—a partnership that, in an unexpected way, reconnects the property with the business it housed for much of the 20th century.

Captain Dusty's owner Lisa Bartlett has partnered with Manchester resident Tyler Pinstein, bringing fresh lobster rolls by way of Pinstein's food truck to the longtime summer destination.

For Bartlett, it's a full-circle moment.

Long before families lined up for ice cream after a day at Singing Beach, the small building housed Captain Dusty's Lobster & Fish Market, founded by Bruce "Captain Dusty" Leseine, one of the defining figures of Manchester's waterfront history.

Leseine first came to Manchester after working as a porter aboard a private railroad car serving one of the town's wealthy summer estates.  When the family lost its fortune during the Great Depression, he found himself stranded here and built an entirely new life along Manchester Harbor.

"Captain Dusty was the only Black man who lived here," Bartlett said.  "As a man of color in this era, he became a respected member. It's of tremendous value to keep his name and story alive."

Leseine became a lobsterman whose boat, The Dirty Shame, was well known among locals, but his reputation as a larger-than-life, successful Black lobsterman reached well beyond Manchester.  He was profiled by Ebony magazine, the NAACP, and National Geographic, which wrote in 1979 that he was, "one of the two most respected men on the North Shore, the other being U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge."  In 1984, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce named him Businessman of the Year.

After Leseine's death, the business was purchased by Lee and Sonia Gates, which continued operating it as a lobster shack before Lisa Bartlett received an unexpected phone call in 1996.

"How would you like to operate an ice cream shop for one summer?" Sonia Gates asked.

One summer stretched into 30.  Captain Dusty's eventually expanded to a second location in Beverly Farms.  This summer, however, it also welcomed something from its past: lobster.

Pinstein launched Vine Street Lobster Rolls this summer, but the food truck actually began life as another seasonal business.

A full-time chiropractor in Danvers and father of three young children, Pinstein created Vine Street Cider Donuts for the 2024 revival of Manchester's community carnival at Masconomo Park, a childhood tradition he loved and which, today, serves as a fundraiser for ME Athletics Boosters. 

After two successful fall seasons, however, the truck sat unused for much of the year.  Looking for a summer concept, Pinstein settled on what seemed like an obvious idea.

"It's mind-boggling in Manchester that you can't get a lobster roll to go," he said.

Word of the new business eventually reached Bartlett.  With room available on the Beach Street property, the pair formed a partnership.

"No one sells lobster rolls, and here we are by the ocean," Bartlett said.

Pinstein said customers have embraced the combination.

"Lobster rolls and ice cream are classic New England," he said. "People have been excited to get a lobster roll and ice cream next door."

Launching a food truck has brought challenges, from unpredictable weather to inventory management and logistics, but Pinstein credits support from Manchester American Legion Post 113 and Bartlett's willingness to collaborate for helping make the business possible.

"Deep down, we want to create a memorable experience for families in the summertime," he said.

The location certainly helps.

Captain Dusty's sits at one of Manchester's busiest summer crossroads, where thousands of residents and visitors walk between downtown and Singing Beach each weekend, not to mention Masconomo Park.  For generations, it has been a destination—before going to the park, after going to beach, or just because.

Whether customers know the property's history or not, Bartlett enjoys seeing lobster return to the place where it was once sold every day.  After all, the property itself creates an unexpected link between the site's past and present.  In a small but meaningful way, the property has come home.

"Captain Dusty's is in a unique and special location," Bartlett said. "We don't lose sight of how lucky we are."

Vine Street Lobster Rolls serves Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. through Labor Day weekend outside Captain Dusty's Ice Cream, 60 Beach St., Manchester. Captain Dusty's is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. during the summer season.