After two decades in business, Joe’s Crab Shack will soon depart its bay front space in downtown San Diego.
Originally opened in the early 1980s as a branch of Chart House restaurant, the waterfront building known as the "San Diego Rowing Club" site sits on 1.2 acres of land located behind the Convention Center and steps from the Rady Shell concert venue. It eventually rebranded in 2002 to become Joe's Crab Shack. Last week, the building's landlord the Port of San Diego approved the hiring of Retail Insite brokerage firm to find a new restaurant tenant for the space. The building includes a wraparound patio, boat dock and 56 parking spots.
Retail Insite has already worked with the Port of San Diego to recruit more than 20 new tenants for Seaport Village, including high profile tenants like Malibu Farms, Mike Hess Brewing, Mr. Moto Pizza House, Spill The Beans, and Gladstone's, to name a few. For the Joe's Crab Shack site, the Port is seeking a "high transformative operator to take advantage of the unique location of the historic site" in an effort to compliment the nearby Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
Joe's Crab Shack's lease expired on October 31 and is now month-to-month. Although the company indicated a desire to stay in the 9,000 square-foot building, it failed to submit a proposal outlining future improvements and a plan to increase revenue, so the Port is now working to sign a new tenant.
Joe's Crab Shack remains in operation at 525 E Harbor Drive behind the Convention Center in downtown San Diego. For more information, visit joescrabshack.com/location/joes-crab-shack-rowing-club.