The Crabby Shack Has Been A Brooklyn Staple for 12 Years. Now It’s Fighting To Stay Open

BROOKLYN, NY— After 12 years in Crown Heights, The Crabby Shack marked its anniversary with a block party that owners feared could be their last.

"We just need people to remember The Crabby Shack," co-owner Gwen Woods said. "People think, 'They've been here so long—they're fine.' But we need people to come back for the dinner they loved."

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With its white-brick exterior and red-and-blue trim, the locally owned seafood restaurant brings a slice of the coast to Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights.

Co-owners Fifi Bell-Clanton and Woods met through Bell-Clanton's husband around 2005.

"He kept saying, 'You've got to meet my girl,'" Bell-Clanton said. "I thought, 'Wow, she must be amazing.'"

Woods, however, had no idea she was about to meet the person who would become her future business partner.

Her husband had kept the introduction a surprise.

When Bell-Clanton finally saw Woods, she rushed over with open arms, eager to meet the woman she had heard so much about.

"She literally pushed me," Bell-Clanton said with a laugh.

Bell-Clanton, who grew up in Philadelphia's crab-house culture, and Woods, whose family roots trace back to the Chesapeake Bay, left careers in fashion and music to open the restaurant in 2014.

"She came to me with the idea to open up a crab restaurant in Brooklyn, and at the time there weren't any crab restaurants," Woods said. "We knew nothing about the business, but we saw an opportunity."

Together, the pair developed the menu from scratch, turning casual conversations about their favorite seafood dishes into the foundation of The Crabby Shack's menu.

Bell-Clanton, who loved experimenting in the kitchen, would pitch ideas while Woods helped shape them into finished dishes.

Their brainstorming sessions led to signature creations like the Clobster Roll, a combination of crab and lobster that became one of the restaurant's standout items.

When they found the Franklin Avenue storefront, a former church in need of major renovations, Woods had reservations.

Bell-Clanton convinced her to see beyond the peeling floors and leaking roof.

Running a seafood restaurant has always come with high overhead, but the Crabby Shack now faces the same pressures affecting many small businesses: rising food costs, expensive leases and a changing neighborhood.

For a restaurant built around premium seafood, the cost of ingredients can quickly add up.

Global crab markets have remained tight in recent years, with limited supply and strong demand keeping prices elevated for major crab species.

Beyond rising ingredient costs, Woods said third-party delivery platforms have added another financial strain to the business.

The apps take a significant portion of each order, cutting into the revenue that small restaurants rely on to stay afloat.

"That 30 cents on the dollar we do not see," Woods said.

She encouraged customers to order directly from the restaurant instead.

But after making a video announcing the potential closure, the doors have kept swinging.

For Woods and Bell-Clanton, the response has highlighted the kind of neighborhood connections that have long defined Crown Heights: where small businesses serve as gathering places and familiar faces still matter.

As Crown Heights has transformed over the past decade, longtime businesses have faced growing pressure from rising commercial costs and shifting neighborhood dynamics.

The Crabby Shack's challenges mirror broader pressures facing small businesses in Crown Heights.

A 2026 report from the New York City Comptroller found that more than one in 10 storefronts previously occupied by small businesses in the neighborhood were vacant.

And, 40 percent of surveyed merchants reported a decline in business over the previous year, while 80 percent said they leased their storefronts rather than owned them, according to a 2023 Crown Heights Commercial District Needs Assessment.

For Woods and Bell-Clanton, the changes are complicated.

They have watched new restaurants, residents and businesses arrive, but they have also seen longtime community members move away.

As Crown Heights has changed, Woods said the neighborhood has lost some of the Caribbean and Black communities that once shaped its identity.

"This was a strong Panamanian community, and even some of the Black population has definitely changed," Woods said.

Beyond the food and the storefront, The Crabby Shack has remained a family affair.

Over the years, Woods and Bell-Clanton's children have grown up around the restaurant, occasionally stepping in to help with daily operations— from answering phones to supporting their mothers behind the counter.

On Saturday, The Crabby Shack will celebrate 12 years in Crown Heights with a block party outside the restaurant.

Located at 613 Franklin Avenue, between Bergen Street and Dean Street, the restaurant is open noon-10 p.m.

To learn more visit its website.