With Tempe closure, Joe's Crab Shack says goodbye to Arizona

Joe's Crab Shack has closed its last Arizona location in Tempe. Jackie Mercandetti

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In the height of America's chain restaurant boom, Joe's Crab Shack brought a taste of the coast to landlocked regions around the country. In Arizona, customers shared seafood platters, boils and buckets, shelled shrimp and cracked crab legs at the Arizona Mills mall location for over a decade.

The restaurant, located on Baseline Road just east of Interstate 10, has now closed. It was the chain's last remaining location in Arizona.

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Joe's Crab Shack served customers at its colorful, kitschy restaurant in Tempe for over a decade.

Jackie Mercandetti

Joe's Crab Shack was launched in 1991 in Houston, Texas and was bought by Landry's Inc. in 1994. Soon, it began a rapid expansion, opening restaurants all over the country.

The casual, colorful restaurants became a destination for seafood and family fun with kitschy seaside decor and plenty of crab-themed souvenirs. In Tempe, picnic tables and booths sat beneath a giant plastic great white shark suspended from the ceiling.

In recent years, the chain has shrunk significantly. In 2014, it had almost 140 locations. In 2017, it rapidly shuttered spots, and got down to 72 operating crab shacks. Now, there are only 16, mostly concentrated in California, Florida and Texas.

The latest link to break is the Tempe restaurant, marking the chain's exit from Arizona altogether.