(SavorNation) – As Joe’s Crab Shack prepares to close its doors in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the once-bustling seafood chain will dwindle to just 14 locations across the United States.

Originally established in Houston in 1991, Joe’s Crab Shack boasted nearly 140 outlets nationwide at its peak in 2014, according to FSR magazine. However, the number of restaurants has dwindled over the last decade following the brand’s acquisition by Landry’s, Inc. from Ignite Restaurant Group in 2017.

The Jacksonville Beach restaurant is set to permanently close on January 24, 2026, as confirmed by an employee to Nexstar. Although unable to share more specifics, the employee estimated the site had been serving the community for about 20 years.

On Reddit, one user expressed surprise at the closure, saying, “That place was [always] packed. I wonder what led to that decision.”

Meanwhile, some past patrons speculated that the area’s abundance of seafood establishments might have played a role, with one remarking that Joe’s offerings were “mediocre” compared to other local options.

Seafood chain restaurants in general, however, have been facing slowed foot traffic in recent years, dropping by 1% between 2023 and 2024, a source for the market research firm Circana told SeafoodSource last year.

The outlet later reported that sales were picking up slightly for certain brands in late 2025, including the Bonefish Grill, Red Lobster and Long John Silver’s, citing data from software company Placer.ai. Long John Silver’s, too, updated its logo in October to replace an image of a fish with that of a chicken, though the company did not say whether the change was a result of (or response to) consumer preferences for seafood.

A representative for Landry’s, Inc., did not respond to a request for information about the Joe’s Crab Shack at Jacksonville Beach, or its reasons for closing other locations in recent years. (The Ignite Restaurant Group, which had previously owned Joe’s Crab Shack, had reported dwindling sales in a bankruptcy filing before it was acquired by Landry’s, Inc., in a court auction in 2017, FSR magazine reported at the time.)

Joe’s Crab Shack COO Terry Turney, meanwhile, has confirmed that the Joe’s Crab Shack in Jacksonville, after it shutters, will reopen as a location of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., the Jacksonville Daily Record reported.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., too, is a seafood restaurant brand also owned by Landry’s.

“This just in, Landry’s restaurant turns into Landry’s restaurant,” another Reddit user joked of the switch.

Joe’s Crab Shack currently operates 15 restaurants throughout the U.S., including the soon-to-close location in Jacksonville Beach. Other restaurants can be found elsewhere in Florida as well as California, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.