Providing Austinites with a homestyle crawfish boil experience was one of the goals of Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar owner Hiep Nguyen when he first opened the restaurant in 2007.

Nguyen, who grew up in Rockport, Texas, and has lived in Austin for more than 20 years, said he has always loved to eat crawfish with his family.

“We used to go shrimping and crabbing,” he said, adding he loved to cook as well.

His brother, a seafood distributor, was already providing wholesale seafood for other local eateries, he said.

“There was no restaurant in town that made a homestyle crawfish like we [would make at] a crawfish boil at home,” he said.

The first location, on Wells Branch Parkway in the Northwest Austin area, opened in 2007. In February 2014 the company expanded by opening its Southpark Meadows location near the Grove.

“We were getting a lot of customers from down south who would come all the time [to the north location],” he said.

The south location is larger than the north restaurant and has a full bar as well as patio seating.

The eatery’s most popular item by far is crawfish, he said, noting it is sold by the pound as well as in etoufee, gumbo and other dishes.

Occasionally, newcomers to the restaurant have never tried the crustaceans.

“They’ll ask us how to eat them and how to open them,” he said, adding staff can provide tutorials if needed. “We give samples out to someone who has never had it before.”

Shrimp and snow crab are also customer favorites, he said.

Nguyen said although he oversees daily operations and delivers supplies to the two locations, he prefers to be preparing food when possible.

“When I’m at work, I’m in the kitchen,” he said.

When is crawfish season?

Crawfish season lasts from mid-November to mid-July, Nguyen said.

The seafood gumbo ($4.95 for a small bowl) is made with crawfish, shrimp and sausage.[/caption]

The peak of the season—when crawfish are most readily available—is between February and May.

Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar has fresh crawfish almost year round, he said. During weeks when live crawfish are not available, the restaurant specifies to customers that the crawfish are previously frozen.

“The flavor is still good,” he said.

Room to grow

Nguyen’s wife, Quyen Tran, also works in the restaurant. The family-owned business aims to expand its operations in the future, Nguyen said.

Owner Hiep Nguyen and his wife Quyen Tran visit the south location.[/caption]

“There are lots of areas that really would benefit from having a crawfish place,” he said.

Customers come to the north and south locations from Lakeway, Cedar Park and Waco, he said. The company is considering locations in Round Rock, Cedar Park and Central Austin, according to Nguyen.