3 Signs This Once Popular Seafood Restaurant Might Not Survive 2026

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Just like most things in life, restaurants come and go, no matter how much you indulge in its array of menu offerings or cling onto special moments that take you back every time you drive by a location. That certainly seems to be the case with Houston, Texas-based Joe's Crab Shack. The seafood-centric eatery has seen a slew of conundrums in past years, like other casual chain restaurants have experienced, which makes us think its chance of thriving in the new year might be slim.

Joe's Crab Shack (owned by Landry's Restaurants Group) opened back in 1991 in Houston, Texas. At its prime, it ran almost 150 restaurants. The early aughts seem to have been the golden era for the casual seafood restaurant chain, when customers embraced its nautical-themed decor and menus packed with deals on seafood meals.

In 2025, however, the cost of seafood has risen significantly, and the sale of seafood has declined in the United States as a result. When you consider the costly process of running restaurants in this economy, it's not a shocker that Joe's Crab Shack has shuttered many locations, some of which have seen sales declines and health code violations.

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Like we mentioned, Joe's Crab Shack operated nearly 150 restaurants across the country at one point. But these days, it only has 15 locations in seven states, predominantly in California, Florida, and Texas. We've told you before that Joe's Crab Shack shuttered many locations, with some of the most recent being its San Diego, California store in August 2025 and the location in Deptford, New Jersey in May, 2024.

The reasons for these closures range, but most reports point to declining sales and the rising cost of seafood. Prices of shellfish like shrimp and lobster have risen significantly, which likely makes it hard for casual chains like Joe's Crab Shack to offer deals to compete with higher-end dining institutions. Companies often restructure businesses by closing low-performing locations to put effort into more popular restaurants in an attempt to thrive. However, not all hope is lost considering there are 15 locations you can still dine at, including in Garden Grove, California, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas.

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Another sign of a downturn for Joe's Crab Shack is that some of its locations have recently seen closures due to poor health inspections. To be clear, even top-tier New York City restaurants close due to failed health inspections, but it just adds to the list of reasons why we think this once-popular seafood chain is struggling. It's not just a single location that has seen this struggle recently either.

First, its San Diego, California location was forced to close in August 2025, which was widely reported on by many local news outlets. Apparently, a sewage leak outside of the restaurant caused health-code violations that resulted in a forced closure. Online reports also show that its Jacksonville, Florida location also experienced violations in October 2025, including signs of mold and mildew, missing tiles, and toxic substances stored incorrectly. However, in the restaurant's defense, the same reports say that these instances were fixed.

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Another surefire sign that Joe's Crab Shack is struggling has to do with a decline in sales. Back in 2024, the company's sales declined by nearly 25% according to The Street. This likely has to do with those rising costs of seafood and inflation. The steep sales drop is also what led to those aforementioned store closures. For reference, general seafood restaurant patronage dropped by 1% in 2024.

However, it's worth mentioning that certain Joe's Crab Shack locations saw an increase in sales in certain quarters of 2024. Its Daytona Beach location saw a nearly $600,000 increase in sales from July 2023 to June 2024. In line with the previously mentioned sales drop, however, the location saw a decrease in sales from July 2024 to February 2025. But we certainly hope the seafood chain can pull through for your next nostalgic seafood feast. And if you do end up at one of its remaining locations, here's what you shouldn't order at Joe's Crab Shack.

For more, here's another reason why Joe's Crab Shack previously started slowly disappearing.