The Crab Claw Prepares to Close After 60 Years of Serving St. Michaels

Screenshot

(ST. MICHAELS, Md) – “There’s nobody I know who’s happy they’re closing.”

For Fred and Sharon Kirsch, they’ve been eating at the Crab Claw every summer for 60 years…

And they understand why this restaurant has been so important to St. Michaels.

Sharon says, “What the crab claw did for the kids in Saint Michaels, You know, they all worked at The Crab Claw. They all got college money from The Crab Claw. It was just a rite of passage.”

But now, after 61 years, the Crab Claw will be closing their doors for good after November 1st.

General Manager, Tracy Jones-Wass has been running the restaurant with her family for decades, and she says it’s nothing short of a loss for the community.

“My favorite memories are my customers and the relationships that I built with them. My employees, the longevity. They are like my family, the average employee has been here 40 years. They just don’t leave me. I treat them warm and they treat me well,” says Tracy.

It feels like a loss for many of the people who work at the Crab Claw, a place that put St. Michaels on the map, both at home and abroad.

Wayne Bridges has worked more than 40 summers at the Crab Claw, and is the General Manager. He says, “Even though it’s just a little tiny space, you know, a little speck of sand and a huge beach of a planet. So that is what just amazed me how deep and how far reaching we are.”

While Tracy’s son and Crab Claw server, Brandon tells us, “It’s been just an absolute pleasure to be here all together and all and all, seeing the same faces every single year, people coming back.”

As Tracy and her family get set for that final weekend, they’re inviting everyone to come have some crabs before they say farewell to a legacy spanning over 60 years.