The grand opening of the Joe’s Crab Shack in Riverhead was still 21 hours away when a small group of hardy and crab-hungry people started lining up outside the new Route 58 seafood restaurant this afternoon, determined to be among the restaurant’s first 100 customers tomorrow, each of whom will be rewarded with a free crab dinner every month for a year.
Elizabeth Tyson and her son Carl, of Westhampton, were first in line today, arriving at 2 p.m. They’ve eaten at Joe’s in Tennessee and New Jersey, Elizabeth Tyson said, and they couldn’t pass up the chance to get free crab for a year.
The Tysons were followed at 2:15 by a group of local teens who pitched a couple of tents and entertained themselves playing frisbee and hackeysack and tossing lacrosse balls back and forth in the parking lot. Alexa Bloss, Greg Trent, and Kevin O’Kula of Riverhead, along with Mark Andrejack, and Todd Brewer and Sam Lombardi of Jamesport, said they’d never been to a Joe’s Crab Shack but they heard about the giveaway and thought, “Why not?”
“It’ll be fun,” Andrejack said.
“This is the first location on Long Island,” O’Kula said.
Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps Chief Joseph Oliver, who set up in line at about 5:30, said he attended a “soft opening” this week and the food so good he was inspired to do the campout.
Adam Feldman of Bayside, Queens was set up behing the local vols. He said Joe’s was “sort of a family tradition” and when he heard about the giveaway, he thought he’d camp out. A pre-med student at Stony Brook University, he said he’d be joined in the queue by family and friends.
One lucky guest at tomorrow’s grand opening will win free crabs for life, according to a press release issued by the company.
Campers will be provided with free coffee and a “special gift” tomorrow morning. A DJ will start playing music at 9 a.m. and a ribbon-cutting is set for 10:45. Doors open at 11 a.m.
Riverhead is the first Suffolk County location for the Houston-based chain, which currently operates 133 locations in the USA.
Riverhead LOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti
Correction: A previously published version of this article incorrectly stated the Riverhead restaurant would be the first Joe’s Crab Shack on Long Island. Joe’s is already located in Oceanside.
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