Legal plant leaves the waterfront; the cod stays

For two decades, the 45-foot-long sculpture of a cod with a color-changing eye has greeted boaters as they made their way past the South Boston Waterfront. Those in the know understood that the giant metal fish meant one thing: Legal Sea Foods headquarters. Soon though, Legal is leaving the building. But the giant codfish will remain, thanks to a recent deal in which the restaurant group’s owners sold the seafood processing plant (and the fish sign) to processor Stavis Seafoods for an undisclosed price. PPX Hospitality Brands, a private equity backed restaurant operator, acquired Legal from Roger Berkowitz in late 2020. With that deal came Legal’s two-story, 75,000-squarefoot seafood plant, behind the Leader Bank Pavilion and Harpoon Brewery on Northern Avenue. Stavis, owned by Spain’s Grupo Profand, had plans to build a new home nearby, but those fell apart in large part because of rising construction costs. So Stavis chief executive David Lancaster said he approached PPX to see if the company might sell the Legal building to him instead. Initially, according to Lancaster, the answer was no. PPX was using the building as a central commissary for its three restaurant groups — Legal, Smith & Wollensky, and Strega Italiano. But eventually PPX realized it didn’t need all that prime waterfront real estate. Legal president Matt King said he generally buys most of his fresh fish from local distributors, rather than trying to process it himself. King said the company will soon finalize a lease for 30,000 square feet of industrial space in Milford for a new commissary, where 30 to 40 people will work. He hopes the new building will be ready in January. For now, PPX and Stavis share the waterfront building, while Stavis owns the plant, which sits on land it leases from the Massachusetts Port Authority. King expects Legal will keep an office on the nearby Fish Pier, even after the move to Milford. — JON CHESTO