Cajun-style seafood restaurant planned in Palatine
A Cajun-style seafood restaurant is proposed to take over space previously occupied by a quick-pizza eatery in Palatine.
Under a plan set to appear before the village council, Royal Crab House would operate in the old Pie Five Pizza Co. spot on the perimeter of the Deer Grove Centre, on Dundee Road west of Rand Road. Pie Five opened in 2015 and closed last year.
Co-owner Linda Chen, speaking at a Palatine zoning board of appeals meeting this week, said she opened her first eatery in Downers Grove in 2005 and has extensive restaurant experience.
Royal Crab's planned menu includes oysters served raw or grilled Louisiana or California style. King crab legs, whole Dungeness crab, shrimp, lobster and clams also would be served with a level of spice selected by diners.
The restaurant expects to have five full-time and four part-time employees.
Zoning board of appeals members recommend giving the eatery a special-use permit needed to operate.
"I think it's great this is going in there as another restaurant," board member Kevin Cavanaugh said. "I think it's unique and it's different than the kind of restaurant that I would expect to see there. So, I'm hopeful it survives and does well. It's just a very different menu and I'm excited to try it."
Royal Crab project manager James Zhang said the layout of the former 70-seat Pie Five would work well for the new business. The space is about 2,000 square feet in a busy section of Deer Grove Centre that also includes Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Jersey Mike's Subs.
Zhang said one of Royal Crab's partners has longtime seafood experience.
"We have a stable supplier and we know our business very well," he said.
Palatine village council members will get the final say on the proposal.
In March 2017, Dallas-based Pie Five closed corporate-owned stores in Palatine, Glenview, Skokie, Algonquin, Naperville and Oak Lawn, with officials at the time saying they wanted to focus development on their growing markets. The chain, which began in 2011, entered the Chicago market in early 2015, offering customizable pizzas in five minutes.