Kiesha’s Crab Shack has only been open for four months, but seven days a week owner Kiesha Elliott sees a steady stream of customers, all angling for a taste of her scrumptious seafood.
Elliott pointed out that the incredible success of her business was not something she had foreseen happening so quickly. While the doors of the restaurant physically opened to the public on February 21, the business had started during the pandemic restrictions last year, during which time, customers placed orders and picked up their meals. Now they have the option of indoor or outdoor dining at the restaurant.
Elliott had left Guyana when she was 13 and lived abroad for a number of years before returning to settle here. When she did, she said, it was not with the intention of starting this business. However, she told Stabroek Weekend, she was always grilling and frying prawns and crabs and this had become a favourite in her family. It was her son, she said, who first started frying the crabs, then she took over and would share photos on her social media pages, along with pictures of other seafood she prepared. Friends began commenting and then she started getting requests, which led to her taking orders. She never expected the seafood business to blow up.
Elliott is self-taught, having done no culinary studies. She explained that her expertise comes from cooking for her five children over the years. They were her taste testers. “One of the things I have on my menu is the jumbo prawns with the fettuccine pasta,” she related. “They would taste it and say sometimes, ‘add a little bit more lime on the prawns’ and then they’d say ‘perfect’. I’ll try that and they’ll be like ‘wow’. I use a lot of lime juice in my dishes.”
A number of years ago, she ran La Familia Country Club, where she had a kitchen, a bar and an inside swimming pool for customers. The business subsequently closed down and has now been renovated to house Kiesha’s Crab Shack.
When Elliott first started filling orders she did so from 6 pm to midnight, which turned out to be a convenient time for essential workers on the night shift. The restaurant’s opening hours are now 11:30 am to 9 pm.
Offering strictly seafood, Kiesha’s Crab Shack’s menus has lobster, king crab, snow crab, a variety of flavoured deep fried prawns including salt and pepper and garlics, curried crab and fried crab among other things.
Elliott noted that while the business could have been named Kiesha’s Seafood Shack, she thought it best to swap out seafood for crab, because this was what she first began offering customers.
“Persons don’t have that variety of options when it comes to seafood,” she opined. “So with me just running a seafood only restaurant, which is the first that Guyana has experienced, is special. Most of the places that do offer seafood, also serve land animals. This is what makes us stand out. Once you come here, you are in a world of seafood. There is a lot of things that makes us unique which is why persons come out, so that they can experience that.”
The restaurant has spacious accommodation.
Asked about her seafood supply, Elliott said that she purchases lobsters locally, but crabs and salmon are imported. She noted that because the crabs and salmon are ice-blasted, they remain fresh until she is ready to use them. All of the dishes at the restaurant are freshly made as they are only prepared on order.
When she first began, Elliott was operating her business solo but she has since employed six persons including bartenders, kitchen staff, and servers. She is currently training one of her employees to prepare some of the dishes.
Asked about challenges, Elliott said she does not have many. Her major concern is staff turnover as she noted that she is constantly hiring as employees do not seem committed to staying put.
Elliott is currently looking forward to Restaurant Week slated to run from June 25 to July 4. During this week, many of her dishes will be available at discount prices. A delivery service will also be available for this week.
With today being Father’s Day, Kiesha’s Crab Shack will serve up Seafood Mac and Cheese as it’s special. This dish, available in a personal pan, will include lobster, jumbo prawns and five or six different cheeses. Mother’s Day, she noted, turned out really well as she had customers coming from as far as Linden.
Elliott shared that the great thing about the restaurant is that it has a family oriented atmosphere and is the perfect spot for families who love seafood and are looking for an open space to dine.
Asked about COVID protocols, Elliott said that all tables are more than six feet apart. When not eating, customers are required to wear face masks and these are provided if they show up without. Customers are also required to have their temperatures checked and to sanitize their hands on entry.
“In the coming years, I am looking to have Kiesha’s Crab Shack become a franchise. I have people coming from Linden, Berbice, America, Holland, London, Canada, and the Caribbean because they’ve heard about me on social media and want to experience Kiesha’s Crab Shack. Business really took off where I want to pat myself on the back for rising to the occasion. I want to have a franchise probably in Berbice and another in Linden. That’s my long-term goal,” Elliott said.
Kiesha’s Crab Shack is located at 456-458 Aubrey Barker Road, South Ruimveldt Gardens, Georgetown. For orders, customers can call 693-1975.
