Millions Crab coming to Louisville

Looks like we are slowly getting inundated with quick service seafood restaurants. We were out doing some errands yesterday afternoon and noticed a sign for Million Crab restaurant going in. The one we saw was in Middletown, at 12951 Shelbyville Rd, Middletown, KY 40243 which is actually on the little feeder road behind the Arby's restaurant. Doing a Google search it also comes up with the 2nd 1 going into the Shelbyville Road plaza. The search also show that there is only one other one which is in West Chester Ohio. Interestingly at least the one here in Middletown sign says Million instead of Million's but searches show it is Million's and the symbol on the sign is the same.

While their name contains the word Crab their menu shows a large variety of "Cajun" seafood items, they have a good bit of variety, although no Hush Puppies? Pricing seems about right for the items they have on it.

Here's a link to the website: https://millionscrab.com/

There's one in West Chester / Cincinnati, but 14 "coming soon!" It's set up (and seems to be owned) by two other chains.

Check out viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25829, an older link that also talks about it.

Million’s Crab was also discussed in a third thread back in March: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25710&p=188722&hilit=cajun#p188722

They’ve done a lot of work on the Middletown location, and I’d guess it might be finished in a month or two. But the Shelbyville Road Plaza restaurant isn’t as far along, although much of the seating was in place when I looked through the window this morning.

There’s a Facebook page for the two Louisville restaurants, but they haven’t posted anything since June.

http://www.facebook.com/MillionsCrabLouisville/

Looks like there's also one going in to the shopping center on Hurstbourne near 64; the same complex that hosts Liquor Barn and Shalimar. There's a sign at the space next to Kansai Japanese Steakhouse. There was a seafood restaurant here once, although I don't recall the name.

The Middletown location will open next Monday (Jan. 11). It has its own website now, with a menu:

https://shelbyville12951.millionscrab.com/

(edited to correct website; it changed between this afternoon and tonight)

The current boiled seafood trend reminds me of the hot chicken craze from a few years back. I see a seafood place called Legends is going in to the old Buckheads in the Gardiner Lane shopping center.

The second Million’s Crab restaurant, at 4600 Shelbyville Road (Shelbyville Road Plaza), will open Thursday, Feb. 11. The menu seems to be identical to the one at the Middletown location.

https://www.facebook.com/MillionsCrab4600Shelbyville/

For those curious about the Cajun seafood places in town:

Already open

Storming Crab, 1360 Veterans Parkway, Clarksville
Pier 17 Cajun Seafood, 1975 S. Hurstbourne Parkway
Million’s Crab, 12951 Shelbyville Road

Opening soon/planned

Million’s Crab, 4600 Shelbyville Road
502 Crab House, 5023 Mud Lane
Captain Crab Seafood Boil, 4112 Outer Loop
Storming Crab, 4809 Outer Loop
Legend Crab Seafood House, 3020 Bardstown Road

Also, the owner of SuperChefs plans to open a restaurant called Drippin Crab just west of downtown; he says it will be an “evolution” of the seafood boil restaurant.

[Robin Garr]

This raises an intriguing question: What's the back story behind this sudden arrival of Maximum Crab? Is it similar to the gazillian storefront Chinese with near-identical menus, or the many bilinguial Mexican places with near-identical menus including a plate lunch named Speedy Gonzalez?

Had lunch at the Million Crab in St. Matthews today. It's located next to the post office in the shopping center where Trader Joe's is located. A few thoughts:
The dining room was much larger than I expected. I'd guess it could seat 75 people. There was no server; you placed your order at the register and someone elivered it. Not sure if that's a permanent thing or just because they were slow.
My wife had a bowl of clam chowder. It was good, although really nothing special. The bowl serving was more like a cup, and at $6 seemed kind of pricey.
I had a bowl of sausage gumbo, also $6. This was actually a standout, and one of the better gumbos I've had north of New Orleans.
My wife had headless shrimp, served in a polystyrene bag with corn and a few new potatoes. About 20 relatively small shrimp with the shell on. At $13, this seemed a bit pricey as well.
I had clams, served in the same manner as the shrimp. I was hoping for Jersey Shore-style steamers, but what came were Chinese buffet-style clams. Not a bad portion for $9, but all in all I'd say it added up to 2 or 3 ounces of actual clam meat.
Overall not bad, although again other than the gumbo it seemed to be kind of pricey. My main beef with them is the same one I had with Pier 17. Your food is served in a polystyrene bag sitting on a metal tray. Once you tear open the bag, you're left with two greasy plastic bags sitting on the table. It's a mess.

I tried the Million Crab in Middletown for a late lunch the other day. (2 PM). There were 2 other tables. I apologized for lateness but the host was very congenial and happily shrugged it off. I had a catfish sandwich with fries. It was good but the portion was skimpy. I guess seafood pricing has escalated a bit because of cost supply and Covid staffing. (The host doubled as server which wasn’t surprising given the late lunch hour. He did fine.) I added 1/2 dozen raw oysters and an iced tea. Oysters were very small but tasty. My tab came to $24 . It seemed steep for lunch but the oysters were $2 each which drove the price up as well. Everything was OK but I seem to remember bigger portions and better oysters at Pier 17 for the same price.