Meet the Owner: TN Crab Shack

Some seafood restaurants put “shack” in their name to invoke some bogus rustic vibe. At TN Crab Shack, what you see is what you get. Look elsewhere for gimmicky cocktails, touristy bibs and inflated seafood. Local folks know this is the place to go for heavy take-out boxes of fried, boiled or steamed seafood at reasonable prices.

The modest walk-up seafood stand might seem a little out-of-the-way, tucked away in northeastern Seminole Heights, across from Sligh Middle School. But staying in business for 15 years means owner Tam Nguyen must be doing something right. “For good food they're gonna come any way,” he said. “Fifteen years we don't have no trouble."

TN Crab Shack
2120 E. Sligh Ave.
813-237-2488

Owner: Tam Nguyen (pronounced “Win”)

Why a seafood stand? “Too many Chinese (restaurants) already,” Nguyen said. “Not enough Vietnamese people here to support a Vietnamese restaurant. Seafood is better for people. It's boiled, it's steamed, it's fresh. It's a better way for you to eat. You don't get sick. We try to help people eat good.”

Neptune's bounty: Snow crab and five sizes of blue crab, shrimp, scallops, trout, tilapia, mullet, catfish, crab cakes, clam strips, conch fritters.

For land lubbers: Fried chicken, fried gizzards, chicken wings, egg rolls, corn dogs.

Roots: Nguyen and his family came to the U.S. from Saigon in 1978. He worked in Chinese restaurants in Tampa for many years before opening the Crab Shack.

Why open his own restaurant? “I wanted to make more money.”

Tampa suits him: “Looks like Vietnam,” said Nguyen. “Weather is the same. No cold.”

Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 to 11.