The Lobster Pound Is Back on Manomet Point. Its First Off-Season Starts Now.

"I hope you have the quahogs!"

A local out for a walk leaned into the doorway of The Lobster Pound and called that out while the new operators were still getting ready to open. The Boston Herald reported that the team got the Collins family's stuffie recipe at the last minute, found quahogs, and made a batch. "We sold more of those than lobster rolls," co-operator Tim Mahoney told the Herald. "We're constantly restocking them."

That was August, when the shack at the end of Manomet Point had a whole summer of pent-up demand behind it. October is different. Columbus Day falls on Monday, October 12. After that, the Pound's announced plan moves from daily service to weekends, and the operators have floated keeping weekends going "perhaps until January." For the past 60 years, the Pound was something you planned around in summer. The next three months will show whether Manomet Point works as a cold-weather destination too. The beach and nature trail down the same road get easier to use once summer rules end.

What came back, and what changed

The Lobster Pound has stood on Manomet Point since 1963. It reopened just after noon on August 10, 2026, its first day open since 2023, according to the Plymouth Independent. The Collins family ran it for 60 years before it closed.

The new operators are Tim Mahoney, 34, from Duxbury, and Ryan Belval, 27, from Needham. They met at Island Creek Oysters in Duxbury. Mahoney was the first manager of the Island Creek Raw Bar, and Belval was shucking oysters there when they met. Belval later took over as raw bar manager, a job the Independent reported he still holds. The Collins family still owns the building and the land next to it on the north side of Manomet Point Road, and leases the building to the pair on a year-to-year basis for now.

The operators have chosen to change very little. "It would just feel wrong to change it," Belval told the Herald, explaining that the shack will always be a shack. They're keeping the menu small and building it around the seawater-fed lobster tanks that made the Pound's name. Here's what the August coverage listed:

• Live and steamed lobsters, plus a rotating selection of local shellfish
• Lobster rolls served hot and buttered or cold with a little mayo, on toasted brioche
• Crab rolls, hot dogs, chowder, bisque, and steamers
• Shucked oysters, which the Independent called a staple of the takeout menu
• The Collins family's stuffed quahogs
• A walk-up window selling Cape Cod Dairy ice cream

According to the Herald, the fresh seafood selection changes with the season, from scallops to clams. In a statement reported by the Patriot Ledger and Wicked Local, Belval said the pair are drawing on their oyster experience to build out a raw bar program. The shop also has a mascot: Larry the Lady Lobster, who weighs over 10 pounds.

The schedule changes Monday

From the start, the operators said fall hours would depend on how business went. In August, the Independent reported a plan to stay open seven days a week through mid-to-late October and then adjust hours. A few days later, the Herald reported a more specific plan with Columbus Day as the turning point. Taken together, the published plans look like this:

None of the published reports give exact weekend hours after Columbus Day, and the Pound's own website says only that "a new season begins August 2026." Before you drive over on a Saturday in November, check the website or the Pound's social media. Hours set "based on business" can change week to week.

The spring reopening date has an unusual reason behind it. The Herald reported that the Pound plans to reopen in early spring, when right whales are said to come to their favorite spot just off the cliff where the shack sits. So the operators are timing the season to the whales rather than to the summer crowds.

The point after summer rules end

What you see from the picnic tables is the same in October as in August. The Independent described views across the bay from Sandwich to Provincetown and north to Duxbury. The Herald described White Horse Beach to the south, the Manomet bluffs to the north, and open Atlantic to the east.

The rules around that view do change in the off-season. There are three designated pickup parking spaces, and the operators have set lobster pots along the edge of the bluff to keep people back from the drop-off. The Independent advised keeping a close eye on toddlers. The tables are on the business's own property, so a cold weekend lunch there depends on the shack being open.

White Horse Beach, the town-owned beach visible to the south, gets easier to visit in the off-season. Plymouth Recreation requires a resident sticker or parking pass only from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day. The North and South Rivers Watershed Association listing gives the beach entrance as 205 Taylor Avenue, with hours from dawn to dusk, free off-season parking, and free entry on foot. In October, the beach below the bluff costs nothing to visit and needs no sticker, while the Pound above it still has a few weekends left.

Up the road at 125 Manomet Point Road, Manomet Conservation Sciences welcomes visitors to its 40-acre campus. The Kathleen (Betty) Anderson Nature Trail is posted as open from dawn to dusk. The organization's trail map shows an accessible bird-viewing blind. It also labels one gate "Closed on weekends." That matters now that the Pound plans to be open mainly on weekends. A Saturday plan that pairs the trail with lunch at the Pound should account for that gate. The map is from 2025, so check it against what's posted at the campus.

First Friday Bird Walk, Manomet Conservation Sciences, 125 Manomet Point Road. Friday, November 6, 2026, 9 to 10 a.m. Registration required. Uses the campus trail and the wildlife-viewing blind.

Manomet runs a bird walk on the first Friday of every month, led by the director of its Observatory. The November 6 walk falls on a weekday. That leaves the campus side of Manomet Point Road for Fridays and the Pound's side for weekends.

Why January matters

Three facts from the August coverage explain why this fall matters more than a usual seasonal slowdown.

1. The lease runs year to year. The Collins family still owns the building and is leasing it to Mahoney and Belval on a year-to-year basis for now.
2. Fall hours were always going to depend on business. The Independent reported in August that the operators would adjust hours based on business after mid-to-late October.
3. The summer start was faster than planned. The Herald reported that the operators opened on August 10 meaning to ease in quietly, but word got out and the place was busy by that afternoon. By late August, Wicked Local reported steady traffic from locals, visitors, and people driving to and from Cape Cod.

Summer was never the hard part. The weekends from Columbus Day to January will show whether the operators keep the extended schedule they've talked about. Belval told the Herald he has been coming to the Pound since he was about 11. He and a friend played cards on the pumphouse roof and came inside to poke at the live lobsters until Frank Collins chased them out. Mahoney said he spent every summer of his childhood there.

The shack is at 252 Manomet Point Road. The announced plan is daily service through Monday, October 12, then weekends, with hours set by how business goes.

If you own a home within walking distance of the Point and wonder how a reopened local landmark like the Pound fits into what your property is worth, Selling South of Boston can give you a clear read based on Manomet sales. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll talk it over the next time we're in line for a stuffie.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.