Rustic Inn Crabhouse

Nestled on the banks of the Dania Cutt-Off Canal sits the Rustic Inn. For more than 60 years, it has lured hungry locals and world travelers to its dock for exotic crustaceans. Communing at its tables, over a bounty of crabs, has not always been the Rustic Inn’s enterprise. No, the history of this old Florida remnant goes back to the days of sight-seeing tours in the Florida Everglades, gator wrestling and a beer-drinking pig named Suzette. Being so close to the Dania Cutt-Off Canal, the owner of the Rustic Inn, Hank, would often catch a couple dozen crabs behind the restaurant for himself. One hot Florida day, he was sitting at a table near the bar pickin’ at some crabs and talkin’ when a customer approached his table and asked, “What is that? Can we get some of those? Six months after this encounter, Hank was sending his son, Gary, to Fort Meyers and Melbourne just to meet the 30,000 lbs of crabs they were going through each week. Then, on another hot day, a customer saw Hank was pickin’ at some crabs covered in a butter sauce and asked, “What is that? Can we have some of those?” On that day, the world was introduced to our legendary garlic crabs, and there has been a line out the door ever since.