Frederick diners have one last chance this Sunday to grab Nashville-style hot chicken at the Hangry Joe's on Spectrum Drive before the space transforms into a seafood restaurant called Crab Shack. The chicken chain confirmed November 8 will be the Spectrum Drive storefront's final day under the Hangry Joe's name, with the new concept taking over afterward.
What's Replacing the Hot Chicken Spot
According to The MoCo Show, Crab Shack is being promoted as a seafood restaurant specializing in fresh seafood boils. The outlet reports that pictured menu options include boils built around shrimp, clams, mussels and crawfish, with different spice levels available to match whatever heat tolerance customers bring to the table. It's a notable pivot for a storefront that, until now, has built its identity around fried chicken sandwiches, wings and tenders served in varying degrees of spice.
Crab Shack would enter a local market where seafood already has a Maryland identity, but the announced boil lineup suggests a different meal from a traditional steamed-blue-crab house. Visit Frederick’s seafood guide notes that county restaurants serve Chesapeake catches, while its guide to local crab spots distinguishes traditional steamed crabs from the many places offering crab cakes and soft-shell crab. The shared seafood label does not necessarily mean the new restaurant will compete on the same dishes or dining ritual.
The restaurant's logo states that Crab Shack was established in 1978, though no opening date has been announced for the Frederick location, per the same report. For now, the 5595 Spectrum Drive address sits in a holding pattern between concepts, with Frederick's seafood fans left to watch for updates on when the boils will actually start flowing.
Hangry Joe's Keeps Its Other Frederick Location
Not all of Hangry Joe's Frederick footprint is disappearing. The chain's second location, at 7820 Wormans Mill Road in Clemson Corner, will remain open, continuing to serve the same menu of hot chicken sandwiches, wings and tenders that put the brand on the map locally. That Wormans Mill restaurant opened in 2023 and is listed among Hangry Joe's Maryland locations.
The Spectrum Drive restaurant has a longer history in the city. Hangry Joe's first announced plans for that location in late 2022, before it eventually opened in a spot that had previously been home to a Baja Fresh near Francis Scott Key Mall. That makes the upcoming transition to Crab Shack the second major changeover for the address in just a few years.
The change also moves away from a tightly defined chain menu. Hangry Joe’s describes itself as a fast-growing franchise, and its brand menu centers on Nashville-style hot chicken with six spice levels, ranging from no seasoning to an extreme level featuring Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Scorpion peppers. The proposed Crab Shack menu also offers varying heat levels, giving the two concepts one apparent point of overlap even as the main ingredients and style of meal change.
The MoCo Show noted that it will provide an update once additional information about Crab Shack's opening becomes available, leaving the exact timeline for Frederick's newest seafood boil destination still unknown.
