Turk's Seafood expands with purchase of former Rustico building

MATTAPOISETT — When Turk’s Seafood ends its season each year, owner Richard Pasquil and his staff ask themselves how to make the business even better when it opens again. 

This year, the answer came in the form of Rustico, a former pizza restaurant across the street. Turk’s purchased the property at  62 Marion Road and will renovate the building into a test kitchen and catering space. 

When the property went up for sale after Rustico closed in fall 2024, Pasquil said he saw an opportunity to add an offering that would compliment the restaurant’s current offerings.

“It’s giving us more room to do different types of products and applications. Our biggest thing is the direct link to the seafood industry, and there's a lot of different products that we'd like to work with,” Pasquil said.

He said he isn’t in a rush to open the new building, as the interior still needs repairs, and he is unsure when it will be operational.

When the new kitchen — named “Turk's Test Kitchen Catering and Culinary Lab” — does open, Pasquil said it will be staffed with retired chefs and caterers who want to continue cooking part time. 

“I do have a few different friends that are retiring from the culinary food service business, and a couple of caterers who have retired,” he said. “They still want to do some work out there, but they don't want all the responsibilities.”

Pasquil said he wants the space to be collaborative, and has confidence in the chefs he plans to staff it with. 

He hopes the expansion will give Turk’s more exposure, but emphasized it will not be a new restaurant — the business has one restaurant it is “100% committed to,” he said.