An iconic Maryland seafood restaurant in the D.C. area will close its doors this month.
Crisfield, on Georgia Avenue, said on social media they will close on Dec. 22 after nearly 80 years in business.
“I’ve had enough to be honest,” current owner David Landis told WTOP. “I hate to leave it. It’s just time.”
Landis, who owns the restaurant along with six cousins, said family obligations are what led to their decision to close. He lives on the Eastern Shore now, and none of the cousins’ children are interested in carrying on the business. Chrisfield is now under its third generation of family ownership.
“The Landis Family would like to express our thanks and gratitude to all of our customers, fellow teammates, and friends. A special thanks to the myriad of sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and cousins, of our extended family who helped us build a DMV legacy,” the restaurant posted on Facebook.
Crisfield was opened in 1945 by Landis’ grandmother Lillian Landis. Over the years, the restaurant, which Landis describes as a “hole in the wall,” has consistently rated among the best seafood in the Washington area.
He has fond memories of growing up with his family running the restaurant, and said the place has an uncanny ability to bring different people together.
“This is family,” Landis said. The customers were family, too. “And a lot of them still are,” he said.
He remembers the late musician Jimmy Buffett coming into the restaurant every time he played in the area and developing a friendship with his uncle Ned.
“Jimmy would come in, and Ned would take care of Jimmy. Jimmy would give him tickets to go see him at Wolf Trap or whatever. It was just a nice relationship,” Landis said. “It was one of those things I thought was really amazing about this place.”
Dedicated patrons of Crisfield read about the closing on social media.
“I’ve been coming here for over 30 years,” Tanya Robinson, of Greenbelt, said. “You can come here anytime, anytime during the year and really get down and have a nice time. And the atmosphere has always been wonderful.”
The New York Times included Chrisfield in this fall’s 25 Best Restaurants in Washington DC guide, calling it “a master class in no-frills Mid Atlantic dishes like seafood bisque, broiled fish platters and crab cakes with no filler.”
WTOP’s Jeff Clabaugh contributed to this report.
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