Lobster House sign
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
February 3, 2024 ·  2 min read

Couple Finds Pearl Worth Thousands During Dinner At The Lobster House

Seafood restaurants are expensive but there’s a reason for it – the more expensive they are the fresher and tastier they are. And, of course, for seafood dishes like lobsters and clams, these two are absolutely essential. But, sometimes, there can be something even more expensive hiding inside the food than the food itself! Michael Spressler, and his wife Maria, experienced something special during their outing.

The Lobster House Surprise

The Lobster House clams that Michael Pressler ordered.
Image Credits: CBS Philadelphia

The couple’s trip was an unplanned one, however, there was an occasion. It was the 34th anniversary of the first time they had visited the restaurant. The first time they had visited the Lobster House was in 1987, during the weekend for Presidents’ Day. The restaurant is also celebrating turning 100 years old![1]

Michael Spressler’s order was the usual – 12 clams on the half shell. Spressler had gone finished 11 of them and had just picked up the 12th one when he thought that “it looked kinda heavy.” He got the surprise when he began eating it:

I noticed something was in my mouth. I actually thought one of my tooth broke.”

It was something similar to a stone, but much more expensive – it was an actual pearl! His wife, Maria, said:

He’s eaten dozens and dozens of clams and we’ve never found anything like that so it was pretty exciting.

The discovered pearl
Image Credits: CBS Philadelphia

The Lobster House’s workers were just as surprised by the event. One of them, Sarah Stadnicar said she had never even heard of someone finding a pearl in the restaurant’s clamshells or oysters in the decade she had worked there. The restaurant gifted the pearl to the Spresslers free of charge.

When they later weighed the pearl, it measured 8.8 millimeters. Its potential value can go up to several thousand dollars. However, for the Spresslers, the pearl is something priceless.

Maria said that she would like to turn it into a beautiful piece of jewelry. It would be a reminder of the special events of the day and their unique connection with the Lobster House.

The story has inspired others to go on the hunt too. Stadnicar, for example, said that she might try out raw clams or oysters after hearing about the Spresslers’ story.

Who knew that eating clams would come with such a pleasant surprise?

Keep Reading: Poor Fisherman Finds Extremely Rare Pearl Worth $330,000 While Searching for Food