By Jacquie Rath
Less well known is the landmark's sister store, Jordan's Lobster Dock in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Both locations are products of a family business, which opened in 1938 on Bleecker Street in Manhattan.
Kevin Jordan, 31, has watched his father, Bill, and his uncles, Steven and Michael, work tirelessly to make the businesses a success. Jordan's father runs the Brooklyn location and his uncles manage Jordan's Island Park site.
Jordan is a Rockville Centre native, and he attended South Side High School. After graduation, he embarked on a career that he thought would take him far from the family lobster business. He began studying at New York University's film school, where he was the recipient of the Young Filmmaker's Scholarship, funded by Martin Scorsese.
In 1996, Jordan graduated from NYU and began his career as a writer and director. His first film, "Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire," won the award for best feature at the Toronto Film Festival in 1999.
His father's Brooklyn business, meanwhile, was facing foreclosure. "[Bill] went out on a limb when he added a restaurant," said Kevin's uncle Michael, referring to his brother's financial difficulties.
Kevin Jordan decided to use his talents to try to save the family business. He began writing a script about the struggles of a family-run lobster business. The script illuminates the financial difficulties small businesses encounter in today's economic environment and, more important, it focuses on the human and emotional side of those day-to-day struggles.
Once the script was written, Jordan faced the seemingly insurmountable task of funding the independent project, which was dubbed "Brooklyn Lobster." The family held fund-raising lobster parties throughout Long Island and in New York City. One Rockville Centre party alone raised three-quarters of the $200,000 needed to produce the film.
The next challenge for Jordan was finding actors who would sign on to be a part of the independent project. A mutual friend suggested that he approach New York native Danny Aiello and ask him to play lobster shop owner Frank Giorgio. Aiello reviewed the script and called Jordan at 3 a.m. to sign on as the male lead. "For me, it wasn't about money," Aiello said. "It was about the love of the movie. I love this character's combustibility of being a charming sweet guy, then the next minute busting down a door. He's obnoxious and cantankerous and a pain in the ass, but it's just who he is, and it's difficult for him to say, 'I'm sorry.' I often feel like that man. But you can also see how much he loves his family on top of it."
Shortly after Aiello's endorsement of the project, Jane Curtain (of "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "Saturday Night Live") signed on to play Frank's wife, Maureen.
"Brooklyn Lobster" was filmed in 2004 in Sheepshead Bay and Rockville Centre, with cast and crew working six days a week for a month. While filming in Rockville Centre, Jordan got help from village residents, using the interiors of homes on Harvard Avenue and Judson Place.
When filming was complete, Jordan sent a rough cut of the movie to Scorsese, who provided feedback. Scorsese also agreed to present the film, which substantially added to the project's credibility. "Brooklyn Lobster" has already made a splash at independent film festivals. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September, and was an official selection at the Hamptons International Film Festival last month, where it won the Long Island Audience Award. "Both screenings [at the Hamptons festival] were sold out," said Jordan. "We've had a great response to the film. People can really relate to small business fighting the powers that be."
The film, which is being distributed independently, is scheduled to debut on Friday, Nov. 4, at City Cinemas Village East in Manhattan and the Regal Theater in Sheepshead Bay. On Nov. 11, the film will come to Long Island, opening at theaters in Malverne, Roslyn and Stony Brook. Jordan is hoping the Fantasy Theater in Rockville Centre will also show the film.
According to Jordan, the proceeds from the film will be used to reimburse its investors and, he hopes, to save his father's business. "My hope is that the film becomes 'My Big Fat Greek Lobster,'" said Jordan, referring to the runaway success of the independent film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
To learn more about the project, visit Jordan's Web site at www.brooklynlobster.com.
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