Crab Du Jour

What Crab Du Jour does

Crab Du Jour is a privately held Cajun seafood restaurant chain founded in 2019 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The brand operates a franchise model across 15 U.S. states with 80 or more total locations as of early 2022, growing from a single origin to that footprint in roughly three years. Its core product is the Ultimate Seafood Boil Experience: customers choose a seafood (clams, crawfish, mussels, shrimp, scallop, snow crab, Dungeness crab, lobster tail, king crab legs, blue crab, or whole lobster), pair it with one of six signature house-blended sauces (Plain, Cajun, Garlic Butter, Crab Du Jour, Lemon Pepper, Old Bay), select a spice level (Mild, Medium, Hot), and consume the boil in a bag at a communal table dressed with butcher paper, plastic aprons, and gloves.

The chain runs two service formats: full Dine-In restaurants with a full bar and signature cocktails, and a smaller Xpress format positioned for delivery and take-out only. Beyond the boil, the menu spans appetizers (hush puppies, onion rings, fried pickles, wings), fried baskets (chicken tenders, flounder, shrimp, oysters), Cajun specialties including Po' Boys, and a catering program packaging ~10-person seafood bundles for group events. Distribution combines physical dine-in, company website online ordering with delivery integration, event-driven grand openings, and franchise expansion across the Southeast, Northeast, and South.

Revenue mechanics sit on individual consumer transactions at the unit level (dine-in, takeout, delivery), supplemented by group catering orders and franchise-level economics for the parent. No proprietary technology platform, loyalty system, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; the only digital surface is the e-commerce ordering site, email newsletter capture, and brand profiles on Facebook and Instagram. Leadership disclosed is limited to a VP of Business Development managing franchising and site selection and a location-level General Manager; no parent company, institutional investor, or PE sponsor is identified.

Name

Crab Du Jour

Legal name

Crab Du Jour

Website

https://crabdujour.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Crab Du Jour is a privately held Cajun seafood restaurant chain founded in 2019 in Raleigh, NC, operating 80-plus franchised locations across 15 U.S. states via full-service dine-in restaurants and smaller Xpress delivery/takeout units, serving families and groups seeking an interactive boil-in-a-bag seafood experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Seafood Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAFABAJ

Seafood Fast Casual

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Fast Casual Restaurants

Keywords

• Cajun seafood restaurants
• Seafood boil dining
• Casual dining chain
• Restaurant franchise operations
• Seafood catering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Traditional dine-in restaurant revenue from customers dining at physical locations, including full-service bar sales with specialty cocktails.
2. Takeout and Delivery: Online ordering and delivery services where customers order seafood boils and other menu items for consumption off-premises. The company highlights that their seafood boils transport well and improve with time due to rich marination.
3. Catering Services: Catering orders that can feed approximately 10 persons, including options with King Crab, Snow Crab, Head Off Shrimp, and Clam.
4. Xpress Locations: Smaller express-format locations for delivery and take-out only, generating revenue through expedited ordering without full dine-in service.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Crab Du Jour operates a Cajun seafood restaurant chain centered on an interactive seafood boil experience in which guests select their catch, signature house-blended sauce, and spice level, then eat from a communal bag. The chain offers dine-in service at full restaurants, delivery and takeout through smaller Xpress locations, catering for groups, and a full bar with signature cocktails, with 80-plus locations across 15 U.S. states.

Product overview

Crab Du Jour is a Cajun seafood restaurant chain offering experience-driven seafood dining. The core product is the Ultimate Seafood Boil Experience, an interactive dining format where customers customize their meal by selecting seafood (clams, crawfish, shrimp, various crab species, lobster), house-blended sauces (Plain, Cajun, Garlic Butter, Du Jour Special, Lemon Pepper, Old Bay), and spice levels. The restaurant operates primarily through two service formats: Dine-In (full table-service experience with communal, hands-on dining) and Xpress (on-the-go packaging for delivery/takeout). Additional offerings include Catering Services for group events, a full menu of appetizers and fried baskets, Po' Boys and Southern Cajun specialties, and a full bar with signature cocktails. The brand emphasizes fresh, daily-made seafood with generous portions in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ultimate Seafood Boil Experience Signature interactive dining experience where customers choose their seafood (clams, crawfish, shrimp, Snow Crab, Dungeness Crab, King Crab, Lobster Tail, Blue Crab), one of six house-blended sauces (Plain, Cajun, Garlic Butter, Crab Du Jour, Lemon Pepper, Old Bay), and a spice level (Mild, Medium, Hot), served in a bag for sharing at the table.
• Dine-In Restaurant Service Full table-service dining at Crab Du Jour restaurants featuring communal seating, butcher-paper tables, plastic aprons, gloves, bibs, and shell buckets, alongside a full bar with signature cocktails for guests seeking the in-restaurant seafood boil experience.
• Xpress On-The-Go Smaller Crab Du Jour locations offering delivery and takeout only, packaging the signature seafood boil in steaming bags designed so the boil marinates and remains flavorful for off-premise consumption.
• Catering Service Catering packages that serve approximately 10 persons and include options featuring King Crab, Snow Crab, Head Off Shrimp, and Clams, delivering the interactive seafood boil experience to group events.
• Full Bar and Signature Cocktails Full bar service featuring house specialty cocktails such as the Tipsy Mermaid, Swedish Fish, Giggly Guppy, and Skinny Seal, available alongside the dine-in seafood boil menu.

Quantifiable outcome

• Seafood boils improve with time due to rich marination and steam combination, guaranteeing a flavorful experience even in takeout form

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Red Lobster: Iconic seafood casual-dining chain with a broader menu and family-dining positioning. Comparable as a seafood-led chain serving similar households, but a far more mature and broader competitor.
• Bonefish Grill: Polished casual-dining seafood chain with a broader menu and bar program. Comparable as a casual seafood concept targeting similar occasions, but higher-end and less experiential than Crab Du Jour.
• Joe's Crab Shack: Established casual-dining seafood chain with a hands-on, casual atmosphere. Comparable on seafood focus and family-friendly positioning, though more legacy and menu-broad than Crab Du Jour's boil-only concept.
• Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Theme-driven seafood casual-dining chain emphasizing experience and shrimp-centric menu. Adjacent on experiential seafood positioning but broader and more tourist-oriented than Crab Du Jour.
• Captain D's: Largest US seafood-focused chain; broader and more value-oriented than Crab Du Jour, but the most established comparison for seafood-centric limited-service expansion.

Direct peers

• The Cajun Boil: Seafood-boil concept offering customizable seafood bags with signature sauces and spice levels, directly overlapping Crab Du Jour's value proposition and casual dining format.
• The Boiling Crab: Foundational Cajun seafood-boil chain offering customizable catch-sauce-spice bags served family-style. Closest direct comparison to Crab Du Jour on product, format, and target customer.
• Hook & Reel: Fast-growing Cajun seafood-boil chain with a similar bag-served, hands-on experience and franchise-led multi-state expansion. Directly comparable on concept and GTM.

Regional players

• King Cajun Crawfish: Regional Cajun seafood-boil chain with strong market presence in select US regions. Comparable on concept and menu, but with a more limited geographic footprint than Crab Du Jour.

Emerging players

• Claw & Daddy's: Smaller Cajun seafood-boil competitor with a similar customizable bag concept. Comparable as an emerging player in the same niche but at a smaller scale than Crab Du Jour.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/crabdujourusa
• Instagraminstagram.com/crabdujourusa
• Xx.com/crabdujourusa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crabdujour

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Crab Du Jour