First off, get all the groceries you think you'll need on the mainland before you take the ferry…read moreover to the island. Second, you know you're going to forget something, so . . . You'll eventually wind up at TIMS. They have all the staples: milk, eggs, cereal, meats, cheeses, eggs, veggies, etc. Be forewarned, 90% of the items don't have prices on them. I guess they want you to have sticker shock when you check out. To be honest, it's more like cardiac arrest depending on how much shopping you need to do. The lady in front of me had a bag of stuff in one hand and a gallon of milk in the other and she walked out $75 lighter than when she entered. Small price to pay I suppose when hunger is your next closest alternative. Overall, if Andy Griffith's Mayberry had a 7-11, TIMS would be the mirror image of it with the added benefit of being able to purchase live seafood. Bonus: They have ice cream. An extra star just for that.

TIMS has got the staples (water, snacks), produce, meat, and amazing seafood - everything you'd…read moreneed from a quick trip to the store. The staff is very friendly and there is a great slow pace and neighborly vibe to the whole place. The lobsters are very good - we went two nights in a row to pick some up during our stay on the island.

Excellent Maine Shore dinner without the clam chowder because lobster, crab, steamers and mussels…read moreis enough for me.

Best lobster roll around. Really enjoy this place! Favorite…read moreplace on the island, nice folks, quality food.

Where we go for lobsters on the island! Plan ahead cuz no Sunday hours; if they don't have lobster…read morein the tanks out front, the staff runs down to the docks for even fresher-- off-the boats-crustaceans!

I have been visiting Vinalhaven, ME since before my first birthday. It's a special island with a…read moreworking vibe. No one works harder than the good people at Vinalhaven Fisherman's Co-Op. If you don't know a lobster fisherman personally, chances are when you get here, you'll need to buy some lobster! Look no further than the Co-Op downtown. They're always helpful and charge the best prices I've ever seen. If they don't have exactly what you're looking for up at the main building, they'll go pull fresh lobsters for you from their docks. They also have great recommendations for other seafood you might be interested in locally (muscles, clams, crab, etc.) On Vinalhaven, your only choice is to support local, just the way it should be!

Fantastic fresh and live lobsters!! Would prefer this any day over a restaurant. Staff was so…read moreincredibly nice and helpful, explaining the cook time/process, and even letting us borrow lobster crackers and a large pot. I would definitely come back to this place for their fair prices and great service! Blueberry ice cream was also good!

This place is amazing. The lobster were fresh and delicious…read more The girl who waited on us asked if we had crackers and a pot large enough to cook all five lobster. We did not. She promptly grabbed a pot from behind the counter, telling us that we could just drop it by when we were finished with it. Who does that?!! treated us as if we were her family. We returned the pot the next day. We are looking forward to coming back next year. We will definitely be coming to Parsons for our lobster. It was a great part of our family Vacay. Also the prices were great.

Great local place. We called ahead and told them what we wanted, then stopped by and picked up the…read moreorder. Nice fresh lobsters, clams, mussels, and scallops. They don't always have everything in stock so be sure to call first. Very friendly "mom & pop" business. The food we cooked was delicious!

It's last week of August and this is the best deal you can get for live lobster on Mt Desert…read moreIsland. It's a lobster pier, not a restaurant so be sure you have a place to cook it at home. $6.50/lb for hardshell under 2lbs and $7/lb for hardshell 2lbs+. Jeffrey Rich is a 4th generation lobsterman and the great great grandson of founder Charles Henry "Charlie" Rich. Maurice Sr (pronounced Morris) inherited the business from Charlie and his son Maurice (Mo Jr, may he rest in peace) inherited from him. Stop by, say hello to Jeffrey and buy some of the best lobster you'll ever eat for a fraction of the price other lobster piers are offering in the area. They ship to you too so call them and place an order if you're not nearby. It's off the beaten path, but you'll pass some gorgeous scenery on beautiful winding Seawall Rd on your way there. You can try stacking rocks on the beach you'll passby, but don't take any because you'll get fined or arrested by a park ranger. Thanks C.H. Rich for the yummy grub.

FRESH Lobsters and GREAT prices!…read more We were lookin' for soft shell Lobsters or what the locals call 'shedders'. We'd just heard a great recipe, on Maine public radio, for grillin' these babies. So we were on a mission and this was THE perfect place to get some fresh yummy shellfish!! C.H. Rich is nothin' much to look at, but you're not there for the ambiance! So, don't be deterred by the run-down feel of the place. It's a working fishing warehouse with huge lobster tanks in the back. A true Maine experience ;o).

Great spot to get fresh swim in the ocean not a tank lobsters…read more The goal in good food is... good food! Princesses that expect amazing service from accountants who are introverts never cease to amuse me.... Thank you! Went here twice everyone was as friendly and kind and had a good sense of humor. You want great lobsters this is the spot!

If you're going to get lobsters while on Deer Isle or on the Blue Hill peninsula the coop is the…read moreplace to go. I've gone other places that were more expensive and lower quality so skip those and buy from the guys that just pulled them out of the bays. It can be a little hard to find, you've got to make a sharp left as soon as you turn onto Granite St. and drive down the hill to the water. You go into the office, pick up a bag and walk down to the floating dock to get your lobsters. We picked out a couple of 1.5# lobsters, spent some time talking to the guys who'd brought them in. We went back to the office, they weighed them, we paid a pretty ridiculously low price for hard shells and took them home. They were just about the feistiest lobsters I've ever seen. It doesn't get any fresher than that.

The smoked mussels are incredible. We stopped in twice on a trip Stonington during the tourist…read moreoff-season. I bought the garlic and olive oil mussels. They were so incredible I came back the next day for zesty Italian mussels and bbq mussels. All three were incredible but the bbq mussels were the star for me. They had the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the smoke and mussel flavor. We also got some fresh scallops that I cooked for dinner. They were maybe the best quality scallops I've ever had. Highly recommend this place. They know the good stuff.

One of Deer Isle's hidden gems for fresh and smoked seafoods. Lobster, clams, and mussels, ya yup…read moreeveryday. Beautiful live lobster!!! The more you buy the better the price. We've been here on a Isle a couple of times and Coldwater Seafood has been a source each time. On our recent trip to the Isle we saw a young couple carrying a couple of crates and bags of lobster and other "Clam Bake" items for a large family event. This is when the volume discount was "Lurned". Sadly we were shopping for two and just couldn't girth the same volume. Despite four 1.5 pounders, clams, and some smoked haddock was just peachy for us "Come-To's."

I was unfamiliar with this local grocery brand but stopped in for a few necessities. It was a more…read moresizable, clean, and better stocked store than I expected, given the size of the town. I found some local goods that I wanted to get a flavor of the region, but there was also plenty of fresh produce and basic essentials. The parking lot was crowded, and parking in this town is a tad dicey, but I walked in and out okay.

I was in town to run the Mount Desert Island Marathon. I stopped by here to pick up some drinks for…read morethe race weekend. The store was clean and well-organized with each aisle labeled so it was easy for me to find what I wanted. For the area, I thought that the prices were good and quite reasonable. I was able to pay for my items while using one of the self-checkout kiosks.