One thing that many of us associate with Maryland summers is the return of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab to our dining tables!

In honor of the time-honored Maryland tradition of steaming and enjoying crabs, we are featuring three of our seafood merchants as our Merchants of the Month!

Mel’s Crabs

Mel’s Crabs, located at 5005 Solomons Island Road in Huntingtown, MD (in front of Discount Liquors), specializes in the sale of Maryland blue crabs.  Mel Brennan has been a commercial waterman for the last 23 years and enjoys providing quality crustaceans to crab lovers. Crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac and Patuxent rivers, Mel catches some of the crabs himself – the biggest one he ever caught was 9 ¼ inches! He also supplements his inventory with catches from other local watermen. His roadside truck is a familiar sight in Huntingtown from April through December, selling crabs to loyal customers from noon to 7 PM Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 7 PM Saturdays, and 10 AM to 6 PM Sundays, rain or shine.

Mel is currently in his 21st year and enjoys every minute of it – meeting new people, chatting with his customers, even watching the kids of his customers grow up and come back as adults to purchase crabs! Mel stands behind his crabs, too.  If you find that any of your crabs have died between purchase time and steam time, you can bring them back at your convenience, and Mel will replace them with the same number on your next order (please freeze them first, though, so they don’t smell!). Sales are first-come, first served – so if you need to satisfy your craving for crabs, be sure to get to Mel’s truck early!

• Contact Mel at 410-394-0777 or visit www.melscrabs.com.

Bob Evans Seafood

If you’re in the Churchton, MD, area and have a craving for crabs, look no further than Bob Evans Seafood, a family-owned and operated business located at 5527 Muddy Creek Road. Since 1976, Bob has been catching and selling seafood “fresh from the boat to you.” He is a full-time waterman and sells mostly what he catches from all over the Chesapeake Bay with the help of his two full-time employees. Bob’s two daughters are also involved in the running of the business. His offerings include hard and soft crabs in the summer, fresh fish year-round, and oysters in the winter.  He also offers some frozen items like shrimp, mussels, and scallops to give customers a variety of choices. Bob also has the ever-popular soft crabs available during the summer – you can even stop by and watch them shed their shells!  Once a crab begins, the process takes about an hour to complete.

While crabbing and fishing are enjoyable, Bob also looks forward to talking with his regular customers and meeting new ones.  He has had regular customers since 1976 and is now selling to their children and grandchildren! Bob also stands behind his seafood with his satisfaction guarantee.  If you are unhappy with anything you’ve purchased, simply bring it back for an exchange (this includes dead crabs, too). Summer hours are 11 AM to 6 PM seven days a week; during the winter, the store is open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 6 PM.

• Advance orders are welcome! Contact Bob at 410-867-3884.

John’s Crabs and Seafood

In the Dunkirk, MD, area, John’s Crabs and Seafood offers a wide variety of fresh seafood year-round. John Watts comes from a long line of watermen: his father owned and operated Pop’s Seafood in Landover Hills for many years, and John himself has been crabbing since he was a boy. After 18 years as a maritime rigger at the US Naval Academy, John decided to focus his full attention on the seafood shop, located at 2853 Chesapeake Beach Road in Dunkirk. His seafood includes crabs (both hard and soft), shrimp, lobsters, fresh fish, clams, and oysters (raw and steamed). John gets most of his seafood from local watermen and from his dad, too, with the catch coming from the waters of Herring Bay and the Chesapeake Bay.  Joe Duvall, a local waterman, also helps John run the store.

Like some crab vendors, John started his business out of a truck, selling crabs by the side of the road in Prince George’s County for 15 years. He enjoys meeting people and catching up with his regular customers – many have followed him from that roadside to his current shop. John takes pride in selling the freshest seafood around. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can return it for equal replacement.

• You can also get a frequent customer card, which is worth $50 off your seafood purchase after you spend $500.
• John’s Crabs and Seafood is open year-round, 11 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week.
• Give John or Joe a call at 301-855-6880 for current prices and specials!

Comments are closed.