SEATTLE — Upscale Seattle restaurant Canlis has figured out a new way to serve customers during the pandemic by opening a crab shack in its parking lot.
The Canlis parking lot.. is now the Crab Shack! 🦀🌽
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) July 15, 2020
It’s just the latest idea coming from the brothers during the Covid pandemic.
“Our job is - how do we keep people employed, do it safely, have fun, & keep our business alive?”
Opens tomorrow! Temp checks & masks required. pic.twitter.com/IIajqBGcuu
The restaurant already temporarily opened a burger drive-thru and drive-in movie theater in the past few months to keep the business going.
>> Canlis launches drive-in movie theater in parking lot
The new Canlis crab shack officially opens to the public 12 p.m. Thursday, complete with huts, sails and even a shipwreck.
Customers will be served a feast of crabs, potatoes, corn and more.
Tickets cost $59.96 per person and must be reserved in advance. Learn more here.
The batch for this week sold out in 20 minutes, but more will drop next Wednesday, July 22.
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Owners say the emphasis with the crab shack is safety, and they're working on building the safest restaurant possible and will require temperature checks for everyone.
"This is a statement about doing everything we can for the community, for one another," Mark Canlis said.
The restaurant says these ideas plus the backbone of their current business - delivering meals and food boxes - is keeping the business going.
Canlis is one of the few restaurants in the area that hasn’t laid off a single employee during this pandemic, even with a large staff of 110.
Mark and Brian Canlis say their former model of high-end, indoor service will return one day, but for now they are thinking of new ideas of what to do in the fall when the rain comes back.
Cox Media Group
