Sunday, October 12, 2014
Shanty Grille Closing At New Year's
The Shanty Grille in Ellicott City is closing at the end of the year. The family who runs the restaurant will focus on the Sea King and Pig Pickers takeouts. They cater and can do Shanty Grille menu items if you want. See their post -- http://www.shantygrille.com/letter.php.
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Would love a Sun or other business reporter try to get more clarification on this part of the statement.
"In recent years while Sea King has thrived, the Shanty Grille has faced an uphill battle against a myriad of market, regulatory, and demographic forces. "
Eh, no great loss. The Crab Shanty has always been an overpriced, overrated place. When they redid themselves a few years ago, it reminded me of something you saw on Restaurant Impossible. And the best crab cake around can be found right across the street at Shannon's, which continues to thrive despite "demographic forces". As I continue my desperate search to replace Frank's Seafood, Sea King hasn't been among the possibilities.
The King family thought Crab Shanty's clientele skewed too old. That's why the abomination of the Shanty Grille came to be. They failed miserably. Not only did they misjudge their ability to grow a younger "demo," they gutted their legacy with menu choices and policies (pay for bread, eliminate long time favorites, refusing customer requests). The new place had no character. It took only three years to destroy it all.
The food was never good. Service was always horrible. We tried it every few years over the course of 15 years. Horrible every time.
The Pickers BBQ is on par with something 7-11 would sell under the heat lamps.
I remember Crab Shanty was a good place for special events (like Glenelg Prom) but that was back in the 80's.....
Crab Shanty was fine in the 80s and early 90s. It was a place to get good seafood in HoCo; I would take visitors there. But for whatever reason, it started to slide. Last time I was there was before the Grille experience and the food just wasn't good - it had been sitting under heat lamps. And it had been kind of tasteless the previous time at lunch. Never did the Grille.
Good riddance. Why go to a place like Shanty Grille for crab cakes when you can go to Timbuktu, Jimmy's famous seafood, Pappas, Romanos, etc etc and get BIGGER crab cakes and 2 sides for less money. Shanty has never been a bang for your buck establishment. Food was good but not great. Service was hit or miss. clientele was snobby. Like most family run businesses, each new generation to take over cares less and less. That is why most small business cease to exist. It will be interesting to see if it is leveled over.
If you think the intersection of Plumtree and Rt 40 is bad now, just wait until the place is torn down. The property has already been leased to a national quick stop shop which will bring in and out traffic 24/7.
When I went there the first time when it was still the crab shanty, it was with a group of six, and waitstaff could not have been nastier or or more condescending to the group when the bill came. When I emailed management about it the next day, because I was sure it was unusual behavior, I never even heard anything back. I was there recently with a group and service was fine but the food wasn't anything to write home about. In all fairness the first experience probably ensured that I wouldn't be a regular, and since I'm younger and live nearby, I would assume that I was in the demographic they were after.
I'm sorry to see a business close, but the re-invention of Shanty Grill was a terrible error. Our last visit was for my son's graduation in 2012. Despite not being busy, the service was awful! Food was incorrect and not one offer from management to make it better. I had many memorable dinners at The Crab Shanty, and only one to destroy a legacy.
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