Hey Greenville, does something smell… fishy? Our team recently noticed a trend around town that we want to get your take on.

It started in our neck of the woods, the Village of West Greenville. We saw signage for a new restaurant called The Crab Bag at 54 Lois Ave. (formerly The Happy Biscuit) back in September.

The Crab Bag, 54 Lois Ave. | Photo by the GVLtoday Team

A few weeks later, we noticed signage for another crab restaurant called Crab Du Jour at 1209 Woodruff Rd. Then last week, we spotted signage for two more crab joints in Greenville – one on Congaree Rd. called Crab O’Licious + another off of Haywood Rd. (in the former Haywood Grill site) called Crabbys’ Cajun.

We couldn’t find much on Crab O’Licious, but it looks like Crabby’s Cajun will serve “juicy seafood boil” for lunch and dinner, with options like lobster tails, crab legs, seafood buckets and baskets with the option to pick your own spice.

Crab Du Jour serves Cajun Style low country boil and options like crab, crawfish, calamari and cajun rice. They currently have a location open in Charlotte, but list “coming soon” locations in 10+ other states.

Now, we love seafood just as much as the next person. But we have to wonder – why are so many of these types of restaurants appearing now? Is it part of a larger trend, or does Greenville just have a demand for this niche food option?

Crabby’s Cajun, 850 Woods Crossing Rd. | Photo by the GVLtoday Team

We found this article from last year on the rise of Cajun-inspired, shaken-in-a-bag seafood restaurants in Fort Myers. The owner of one of the restaurants was quoted as saying “It’s a new styling of Louisiana seafood, and it has been growing in every city of the state.” While notable, we kind of expect to find seafood restaurants in Florida. We wanted to see if the trend was present in other inland cities.

Then we found this article from earlier this month on the influx of crab restaurants in Memphis. In the article, Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the National Restaurant Association, indicates a few factors that could contribute to the trend:

People who are trying to make healthier food choices may opt for seafood (think shrimp vs. a quarter-pound bacon cheeseburger).
Chefs are focusing on sustainable seafood.
Many people don’t like cooking seafood (that’s me).
American spending on dining-out has increased by more than 4% this year.

On the other hand, some of the restaurant owners in Memphis simply think people have been wanting seafood options in a market dominated by dishes like barbeque + meat and potatoes.

Whatever the reason, we’re excited to try the new seafood joints in town. But we also want to hear from you – let us know your thoughts on this crab-tastic trend below.