Conrad's Crabs

What Conrad's Crabs does

Conrad's Crabs is a family-owned Maryland seafood company founded in 2003 and operated through its Maryland-incorporated parent TDFG Inc. The company operates four Maryland locations: two full-service restaurants in Abingdon and Perry Hall offering dine-in lunch and dinner with full bar service, raw bar, live music, and private event spaces, and two seafood markets in Bel Air and Parkville offering carryout fresh and frozen seafood. The company differentiates through vertical integration, with founder Tony Conrad personally catching crabs as a licensed commercial waterman for over 21 years, and through continuous True-Blue Maryland Crab certification from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources held since 2012. Conrad's Crabs has been voted Baltimore Magazine's Best Steamed Crabs for 12 consecutive years (2014-2025) and Baltimore Sun Best Crabs for six consecutive years (2020-2025).

The core product portfolio centers on Maryland blue crabs (live, steamed, and prepared), supplemented by crab cakes, crab meat, shrimp, soups, lobster, oysters, and proprietary seasonings and sauces. Conrad's Crabs generates revenue through multiple channels: dine-in restaurant service, seafood market carryout, nationwide e-commerce shipping through ship.conradscrabs.com to all 50 states, on-site and off-site catering for events of 25 to 150 guests (including EZ Cater corporate partnerships), and a food truck operation. Supporting technology is commodity: Toast POS for restaurant operations and online ordering, Stripe for e-commerce payments, MailChimp for email marketing, and OpenTable for reservations, with third-party delivery through DoorDash and GrubHub. A Captain's Club loyalty program with points-based rewards drives repeat engagement.

The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors, and no subsidiaries. Customer concentration is structurally low, anchored on long-tail individual consumers across both regional dine-in/carryout and nationwide shipping, with modest B2B exposure through corporate catering. The business model combines transactional unit pricing on commodity seafood with differentiated provenance and brand reputation, executed through a multi-modal distribution footprint spanning physical retail, e-commerce, mobile, and event channels.

Name

Conrad's Crabs

Legal name

TDFG Inc.

Website

https://conradscrabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Conrad's Crabs is a family-owned Maryland seafood company operating four Maryland locations, nationwide e-commerce shipping, catering, and a food truck, specializing in vertically sourced Maryland blue crabs and award-winning steamed crabs serving both regional consumers and national D2C shippers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Seafood Dining

NAICS

Fish and Seafood Retailers (44525), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171), Shellfish Fishing (114112)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Markets & Fishmongers (CRAHAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Shellfish Value-Added Products (Shucked Oysters, Mussels, Clams; Cooked/Marinated) (AFANALAK), Shellfish Wholesale (Crustaceans & Mollusks) (AFAIADAF)

Keywords

• Seafood restaurants
• Crab cakes
• Fresh seafood
• Maryland blue crabs
• Seafood catering

Headquarters

HQ city

Parkville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Two full-service restaurants (Abingdon and Perry Hall) offering dine-in lunch and dinner with full bar service, raw bar, and live music events.
2. Seafood Markets: Two seafood markets (Bel Air and Parkville) offering fresh and frozen seafood for carryout, including live and steamed crabs, crab cakes, shrimp, and other Chesapeake Bay seafood.
3. Nationwide Shipping: E-commerce platform shipping fresh and frozen seafood products to all 50 states. Products include steamed crabs, crab cakes, shrimp, soups, and seasonings.
4. Catering Services: Corporate catering, private dining (25-150 guests), and offsite crab feasts. Partners with EZ Cater for corporate orders.
5. Food Truck: Mobile food truck operations for events, private parties, and catering.
6. Loyalty Program: Captain's Club rewards program earning points per dollar spent, redeemable for free food. Birthday rewards include free half-pound of steamed shrimp.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Conrad's Crabs is a family-owned Maryland seafood company that catches, prepares, and sells fresh Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and related seafood through two full-service restaurants, two seafood carryout markets, a food truck, catering services, and a nationwide e-commerce shipping platform. Founder Tony Conrad personally harvests crabs as a commercial waterman, and the company sells live, steamed, and prepared crabs, hand-crafted crab cakes, soups, shrimp, lobster, oysters, and proprietary seasonings/sauces under the True-Blue Maryland Crab certification.

Product overview

Conrad's Crabs is a family-owned Maryland seafood company operating 4 locations (Abingdon, Bel Air, Parkville, Perry Hall) with both restaurant and seafood market services. The core product portfolio centers on Maryland blue crabs (live, steamed, and prepared) supplemented by a comprehensive seafood selection including shrimp, lobster, oysters, crab cakes, and specialty soups. The company offers nationwide shipping through its e-commerce platform (ship.conradscrabs.com), on-site and off-site catering services for events from 25 to 150+ guests, a food truck operation, and proprietary branded products including seasonings, sauces, and merchandise. The product lineup includes: Maryland Steamed Crabs (core), Maryland Crab Meat, Maryland Crab Cakes (including Gluten Free variants), Snow Crab Legs, Steamed Shrimp, Frozen Soft Crabs, Lobster Tail, Crawfish, Shrimp Cocktail, Oysters, and Steak fish; Soups including Maryland Crab Soup and Cream of Crab Soup; Seasonings and Sauces including Crab Seasoning, Seafood Seasoning, Conrad's Butter, Cocktail, and Tartar; Bundles including Crab Season Starter Pack, Maryland Medley, Captain's Combo, and Conrad's Box (Holiday); Gift Cards (physical and online); and Merchandise including Crab Mallet and Silipint Cup. The company maintains True-Blue Maryland Crab certification from the Department of Natural Resources since 2012.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maryland Steamed Crabs Fresh steamed Maryland blue crabs, hand-sorted by size from Small to Jumbo, sold by the dozen or bushel and steamed with Conrad's signature seasoning blend; available at all locations and via nationwide shipping ($35 to $475).
• Maryland Crab Meat 100% Maryland crab meat in Jumbo Lump, Backfin, and Claw varieties, flash frozen mid-December through mid-April; sold by the pound at $34.99 to $79.99 for home cooks and food service buyers.
• Maryland Crab Cakes Hand-crafted 5 oz crab cakes made with fresh (never frozen/pasteurized) Maryland crab meat, available in Jumbo Lump or Backfin and in packages of 2 to 12 ($44 to $300); True-Blue Maryland Crab certified since 2012.
• Maryland Crab Cakes - Gluten Free Gluten-free variant of the classic Maryland Crab Cake made with fresh Jumbo Lump or Backfin Maryland crab meat; 5 oz each, True-Blue certified.
• Snow Crab Legs Canadian Snow Crab Legs seasoned with Conrad's Specialty Crab Seasoning, approximately 2-3 clusters per pound; priced $27 to $270.
• Steamed Shrimp Gulf Shrimp steamed in Conrad's house Seafood Seasoning blend, available in XL or Jumbo sizes, 1# or 2# packs; $19.49 to $48.99.
• Crab Season Starter Pack Half-bushel of steamed crabs with Conrad's proprietary seasoning, hand-sorted by size ($125 to $225); currently sourced from Louisiana with Maryland season starting in April.
• Maryland Crab Soup Homemade Maryland-style vegetable crab soup made with Maryland backfin crab meat; sold by the pint or quart, $10.99 to $19.99.
• Cream of Crab Soup Homemade cream-based crab soup made with Maryland crab meat; sold by the pint or quart, $13.99 to $24.99.
• Frozen Soft Crabs Frozen soft-shell crabs in PRIME (smallest), JUMBO, and WHALE (largest) sizes, packaged 4 to 12 per order; $24 to $110.
• Lobster Tail Wild-caught Cold Water Maine Lobster Tails, 4-6 oz each, shipped frozen; $29.99.
• Crawfish Steamed Cajun-seasoned crawfish sold by the pound at $9.99/lb.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• EZ CatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEZ Cater partnership for corporate catering orders, enabling businesses to easily order Conrad's seafood for corporate events, meetings, and celebrations through the EZ Cater platform.
• ToastcoreTechnology or IntegrationToast point-of-sale system for restaurant operations, online ordering, and delivery management across all locations.
• MailChimpsupportingTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform for newsletters, promotions, and customer communication campaigns.
• DoorDashsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership enabling food delivery to customers who prefer not to pick up orders directly.
• GrubHubsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership for food delivery services across all locations.
• OpenTablesupportingTechnology or IntegrationRestaurant reservation platform for the Perry Hall location, enabling customers to book tables online.
• Charm City TriviaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment partnership hosting weekly trivia events at both Perry Hall and Abingdon locations, driving foot traffic and repeat visits.
• TripadvisorsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerTraveler's Choice recognition through Tripadvisor provides credibility and visibility to tourists and visitors to the area.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Crab Place: Maryland-based D2C seafood company specializing in crabs, crab cakes, and Chesapeake Bay seafood with nationwide shipping. Directly comparable assortment, geography, and channel strategy.
• Jimmy's Famous Seafood: Maryland crab and seafood restaurant with national brand recognition through viral marketing and D2C shipping. Comparable Maryland seafood restaurant identity.
• Cameron's Seafood: D2C Maryland-style seafood company shipping crabs, crab cakes, and seafood nationwide. Closest direct competitor in the national Maryland crab shipping category.
• Faidley Seafood: Legendary Baltimore seafood market and restaurant at Lexington Market, famous for crab cakes. Direct regional seafood market and prepared-product competitor.
• Phillips Seafood: Historic Maryland seafood restaurant brand and D2C shipper of crabs, crab cakes, and seafood. Closest brand analog combining restaurant operations with nationwide shipping of Maryland-style seafood.
• Luke's Lobster: D2C and retail seafood brand specializing in lobster and shellfish with strong provenance story. Comparable vertically-positioned, provenance-driven D2C seafood brand.

Broad incumbents

• Captain D's: National seafood QSR chain operating hundreds of locations. Adjacent seafood operator at much larger scale but with a fundamentally different value proposition.
• Legal Sea Foods: Established national seafood restaurant chain with broad menu beyond crabs. Comparable full-service seafood restaurant operations, though with significantly broader geographic footprint and scale.

Emerging players

• Wild Alaskan Company: Subscription-based D2C seafood company emphasizing wild-caught, sustainable sourcing. Emerging brand competing for the same digitally-engaged premium seafood consumer.

Others

• Fulton Fish Market: Historic New York seafood wholesale and now D2C supplier offering broad assortment. Not a direct restaurant/market peer but a competitive national D2C seafood supplier.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ConradsCrabsPar
• Facebookfacebook.com/ConradsCrabsParkville
• Instagraminstagram.com/ConradsCrabsParkville

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Conrad's Crabs