Palatine approves seafood restaurant to open in former pizzeria
Palatine village council members have approved a Cajun-style seafood restaurant to replace a quick-pizza joint in a Dundee Road strip mall.
The council granted Royal Crab House the special-use permit it needs to operate in the old Pie Five Pizza Co. space on the perimeter of Deer Grove Centre, on Dundee just west of Rand Road. The village council voted in favor of the permit this week.
"We found this place is a really good location," Royal Crab project manager James Zhang said.
Zhang told the village council the restaurant's co-owners have many years of food industry experience. One of the partners, Linda Chen, opened her first eatery in Downers Grove in 2005.
Menu items at the Cajun-style Royal Crab will include oysters served raw or grilled Louisiana or California style, as well as king crab legs, whole Dungeness crab, shrimp, lobster and clams, all served with a level of spice selected by diners.
Councilman Tim Millar thanked Royal Crab for selecting Palatine and said he plans to visit the restaurant when it opens.
"It looks like an interesting menu," Millar said.
Royal Crab will use the layout of the former 70-seat Pie Five. The space is about 2,000 square feet in a busy section of Deer Grove Centre, with Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Jersey Mike's Subs nearby.
Pie Five opened at Deer Grove Centre in 2015 and closed last year. In addition to Palatine, Dallas-based Pie Five closed corporate-owned stores in Glenview, Skokie, Algonquin, Naperville and Oak Lawn in March 2017.