Crab legs are in short supply at Coast casinos and restaurants, causing rise in price
Mississippi Gulf Coast casino buffets were at one time said to be the largest consumers of crab legs in the United States.
But a shortage of crab legs — and soaring prices — are forcing managers of several Coast casinos to pull them from the buffets, offer them only on weekends or charge extra to those willing to pay for a plate or a bucket.
Saturday was the last night crab legs were available on the buffet at Palace Casino in Biloxi, said Keith Crosby, general manager.
“The wholesale price has gone up significantly and we just can’t continue to offer it on the menu,” Crosby said.
And the shortage isn’t only affecting South Mississippi. The same thing is happening in the resort town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where restaurants are running out of crab legs.
“The prices have gone crazy, and it’s not a matter of how much you can pay for these, it’s whose got them,” said Ted Hammerman, owner of the Mr. Fish seafood market and Mr. Fish there.
An appetite for crab
Blame COVID-19 processing factory closings and the world’s “insatiable appetite” for crab legs for the current shortage.
“Snow crab demand has been surprisingly strong in the past year, despite the lack of demand from casinos, cruise lines and other buffet restaurants, who have mostly been shuttered,” according to a report from Gordon Food Service. “As of right now there is not enough snow crab being produced to satisfy the current robust demand.”
Less crabs are also being processed.
The New Brunswick Crab Processors Association said the industry left about 11% of its quota in the water in 2020, or between $40 million and $50 million worth of crab.
How does it affect the MS Gulf Coast?
Only two of the 12 Coast casinos have crab legs daily. The Beau Rivage buffet recently reopened, a year after closing for the coronavirus, without crab legs among the offerings. Five other Coast casino buffets remain closed.
Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi offers two kinds of crab legs daily on the lunch and dinner buffet.
“There is currently a shortage of both dungeness and snow crab,” said Susan Varnes, president and COO of Treasure Bay. “In fact, all categories of crabs are at record high pricing.”
Customers who go to a buffet primarily because of the crab legs now pay $31.99 for all-you-can-eat crab legs for lunch or dinner at Treasure Bay, with a discount for players club members. Those who don’t care for the crustaceans or don’t like the higher price pay $12.49 for lunch and $19.99 for dinner.
Silver Slipper Casino near Bay St. Louis has snow and dungeness crab legs every night and all day Saturday and Sunday. The crab legs come at a premium price for the buffet — $44.95 Monday through Thursday and $49.95 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a discount for card members.
Shortage could last awhile
When the last big shortage of crab legs hit in 2017, Coast casino operators responded by charging extra for a pound or more of them.
That’s still the way the buffet operates at Golden Nugget Casino Biloxi, where customers can add 1.5 pounds of snow crab legs for $14.99 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast packages a seafood feast of crab legs and lobster for $39.99 on Friday, Saturday and Sundays.
Most of the crab comes from the waters off Alaska and Canada, and Varnes said her suppliers say the packers don’t have any crab legs in their freezers.
“The first season of snow was not good,” Varnes said, and the suppliers are hinting it’s not good news for the current season that runs through the end of May.
“We line up our crab to be prepared months in advance so we have enough for several months but will be shopping for the remainder of the year’s inventory during this very high priced period,” she said.
Can’t wing it
Crab legs aren’t the only favorite restaurant food that is more expensive and harder to get as the supply chain continues to see challenges blamed on the coronavirus.
Demand for chicken wings, which soared during the coronavirus, is exceeding supply.
“Chicken wings are probably 25% of what customers order,” said Thomas Genin, owner of The Blind Tiger in Biloxi and Bay St. Louis and Marina’s Cantina in Gulfport. “I’m paying almost double vs. pre-COVID for chicken wings,” he said. Because his restaurants serve only fresh, he pays the premium price.
Varnes said Treasure Bay isn’t seeing a shortage of chicken wings yet from their suppliers, “but we have been hearing that some companies are having difficulty.”
Stocks of cold storage chicken wings are the lowest since 2011, said Isaac Olvera, a commodities and data analyst with supply chain firm ArrowStream, citing figures from U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It’s not as simple as raising more chickens, the Gordon Food Service report says. The limited labor force at restaurants and many other industries limits expansion because the industry doesn’t want a supply of chicken that can’t be processed, the report said.
While the supply line is an issue restaurant owners have to get around, it’s nothing compared to the lack of staff, Genin said.
Now that people are more comfortable going out to dinner, other food prices, especially seafood, are going up because of labor shortages, freight cost and supply issues with most processors
A report from US Foods says shrimp prices are slightly higher until the spring harvest and catfish production is a challenge due to labor issues.
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 2:37 PM.
