The caterer Capital Crab Co. will open its first brick-and-mortar location later in June, setting up shop in Chevy Chase after traversing the county in food trucks.
Capital Crab and Seafood will take over the former Arucola Osteria space at 5534 Connecticut Ave. after Father’s Day on June 16.
Capital Crab Co. Founder Tim Walsh bought Italian restaurant Arucola in 2017, shortly after purchasing space for his American restaurant the Avenue down the street. The Chevy Chase resident planned to replace Arucola with the Capital Crab spot, but plans were delayed when the Avenue took two years to open.
Walsh operated the Italian restaurant for a couple years, but now with the Avenue up and running, it was time to return to a crab-centric concept.
“There’s no seafood,” Walsh said. “There’s no real place to get seafood. It made sense.”
He added there were nine Italian restaurants within a mile-and-a-half of Arucola.
Father’s Day is typically the biggest crab day of the year, and Walsh’s catering operation will be swamped, so the restaurant will open shortly after that weekend. Capital Crab and Seafood will have carryout that day.
Walsh said crabs are expensive now given the time of year, as the crustaceans will be more plentiful, and thus cheaper, from August to October. Capital Crab Co. is currently selling a dozen medium-sized crabs for $84, large for $104 and extra-large for $134.
“Right now prices are a little expensive, but we’re not the most expensive place in the area and we’re not the cheapest,” Walsh said.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
