The screenplay is based on Jordan's family's efforts to salvage their Brooklyn-based wholesale and retail seafood operation when the bank defaulted on a loan they had secured to finance a restaurant extension to the business.

Michael's childhood home has been sold, and his mother Maureen, who has separated from Frank and is hoping to establish her own identity apart from the business that has consumed her life, is scheduled to move into a rental house after the holidays.

In 1938, their grandfather established a seafood business on Bleecker Street in Manhattan, and later moved it to a waterfront location in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn where, under the name Jordan's Lobster Dock, it became a popular local landmark.

"[5] Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it "the kind of smart, realistic indie family drama the movies should give us more often, just as they should more often offer performances as full-blooded and rich as Aiello's and Curtin's here.

"[6] Joe Leydon of Variety said, "Despite worthy contributions on both sides of the camera, Brooklyn Lobster comes across primarily as a showcase for Danny Aiello in a powerhouse performance .