Syracuse is getting a nautical twist with the opening of Storming Crab, a family-owned and operated Cajun restaurant.

The Syracuse location, which opened on Aug. 30, is the chain’s fourth restaurant in the family business. Each location is composed of a family member as the manager or owner to keep an eye on its expansion.

Syracuse owner Jay Weng said that, as part of the family business’ tradition, high quality seafood is a key ingredient to their success.

“We care a lot about our customers, so we take care to make sure the seafood we bring in is fresh,” Weng said. “It just so happens that we trust family the most to keep the family businesses’ integrity.”

Since the chain’s launch in 2017, Storming Crab has specialized in a variety of seafood options with varying degrees of heat. Customers can choose mild spiciness, but more daring visitors can indulge in the Storming Crab’s “Supper Hot” and “Sam’s Special” flavors.

The restaurant is best known for their crab options, with their “Combo 4” as a customer favorite. The dish includes snow crab legs, crawfish, shrimp, sausage, seasoned red potatoes and corn.

“I’m from Lake Charles, Louisiana,” Weng said. “I still have family there, and we all enjoy our seafood. Everyone has their own personal recipes, but they mostly use a dry seasoning. I like to use a wet seasoning.”

Storming Crab’s “wet seasoning” is prepared by boiling seasonings in with the seafood, relying on a family recipe and, of course, plenty of butter.

“Seafood will always taste better with butter in it,” Weng said.

Their first restaurant opened last year in Tennessee and has rapidly expanded into four separate locations across the country. SU students and Syracuse residents alike are enthusiastic to see what the chain has to offer.

“I was excited when I heard there was going to be a new seafood place in Syracuse,” said Sidne Norman, a senior in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Seafood around here can be hard to find, but this place is pretty accessible and has a great menu.”

Storming Crab likes to keep their service as authentic to their hometown and their personal stories. Patrons will find the restaurant to resemble a kind of fishing boat, with walls graffitied in nautical symbols, ropes and nets. Customers are not served any plates, the meals are presented in buckets and utensils consist of gloves, a bib and your hands.

“I really felt like I got a lot of food for what I paid for,” Grace Lau, a customer, said. “It was a pretty messy meal, but aren’t those the best ones anyway?”

When the chain was first started in 2017, Weng said the business’ name didn’t come to them right away, but rather through some help from Mother Nature.

“When signing for the first restaurant we opened up it was storming really bad,” Weng said. “So, we decided to name our restaurant after that.”

The restaurant is hoping to open a fifth restaurant in the near future.

“Our goal is to just keep going,” Weng said. “We want everyone to come and give us a try, why wouldn’t you want to try the best seafood in town?”

Storming Crab is located at 2481 Erie Blvd. E. and is open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, visit www.stormingcrabs.com.

Published on September 23, 2018 at 8:52 pm

Contact Leah: ltoney@syr.edu